India’s Supreme Court upholds restrictions on Junglee Games’ skill-based betting

India's Supreme Court has rejected a challenge by Junglee Games to state-level restrictions on real-money online games in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, according to a report. The court held that betting on the outcome can make skill-based games gambling, and that wagering on games of skill does not exempt them from the restrictions.

Approval for the ban came in 2025, and it took effect in May 2026. The litigation centred on statutes in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that bar real-money online games, skill-based ones included. Junglee Games contended that games of skill ought not to be lumped in with games of chance and merited separate treatment.

The report says the legal dispute is not over: gaming companies have taken the matter to court, questioning whether such a ban is constitutional. It gives no further detail on those proceedings.

Junglee Games' owner, Flutter Entertainment, laid off roughly 350 employees as a result of the changes, according to the report. The report also states that Brazil ended its online gaming market less than two years after its launch, and that many operators and suppliers have said they remain open to resuming business there if the country changes its position.