India’s Supreme Court Considers Full Ban on Betting Apps

India’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition calling for a nationwide ban on sports betting apps, according to the Assam Tribune.

The petition also calls for a new, comprehensive federal law to regulate online gambling and fantasy sports. The filing argues that outlawing betting apps is crucial to defending the interests of millions of citizens and protecting reason and democracy in India.

The document submitted to the court highlights the growing trend of betting platforms being endorsed by Bollywood celebrities, cricket stars, and other public figures. It also underscores the legal grey area, noting that in many Indian states online betting is illegal, while apps often mask themselves as fantasy sports platforms. As stated in the petition: “That betting, both online and offline, is inherently a game of chance, not a game of skill, and hence falls within the ambit of gambling, which is prohibited in many states under the Public Gambling Act, 1867.”

The petition stresses the urgent need to protect India’s youth from what it calls an unregulated and harmful online betting ecosystem: “The larger public interest to safeguard the youth of India from the unregulated, exploitative, and dangerous online betting industry operating under the garb of fantasy sports and skill-based gaming.”

The Supreme Court has already notified the central government of the petition and requested an official response outlining its stance on the issue.

This development comes as the court is separately reviewing whether to align the tax rate for fantasy sports with that applied to gambling activities.