New Delhi- The Centre has told the Supreme Court that unregulated online gaming apps have links with terror financing and money laundering and justified bringing a law to regulate these virtual platforms.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said it will try to take up the matter for hearing on Thursday.

“Unchecked expansion of online money gaming has been linked to financial fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and in some cases, the financing of terrorism, thereby posing threats to national security, public order and integrity of the State,” an affidavit filed by the Centre has said.

It has added that online gaming systems are often aggressively marketed through pervasive advertisement campaigns, celebrity and influencer endorsements, amplifying their reach and impact, especially among youngsters and vulnerable groups.

The government has said that considering the deleterious and negative impact of online money gaming on individuals, families, the society and the country, and given the technical aspects, including the very nature of the electronic medium used for online money games, the algorithms applied and the national and the trans-national networks involved therein, and considering that they operate from offshore jurisdictions - bypassing domestic laws, undermining state-level regulations and presenting enforcement challenges in terms of extra-territorial jurisdiction and inter-state consistencies - the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 was enacted.

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