Chhattisgarh HC Seeks Clarity from State and Centre on Illegal Betting & Opinion Trading Platforms

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The Chhattisgarh High Court has asked the state and central governments to provide detailed clarifications on their regulatory and enforcement measures regarding online betting platforms. The direction came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by petitioner Sunil Namdeo, concerning the operation of online gambling platforms in the state despite the enactment of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022.

As reported by Storyboard 18, at the hearing held on March 24, 2025, the petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Amrito Das, stated that several platforms, including some that continue to be advertised, are operating in violation of the Act. The Court instructed the Secretary of the Home Department to file a personal affidavit addressing these concerns.

The affidavit, submitted in compliance with the Court’s directive, affirmed that the government is taking measures to address illegal gambling. It outlined that between 2022 and February 2025, the police registered 444 cases related to online gambling, leading to 1,002 arrests and the seizure of ₹2.19 crore.

Among the platforms investigated, 77 cases were related to the Mahadev Online Gambling platform. Of these, 46 are under trial, and 9 have led to convictions.

The petitioner also named platforms such as Probo, Better Opinions, Coolboost (Predchamp), TradeX, and SportsBaazi. According to the affidavit, no official complaints had been received against these platforms. However, the Cyber Police are conducting inquiries based on a directive issued by the Inspector General (Cyber), dated March 28, 2025, to all district Superintendents of Police.

Advocate Das provided an example of a prediction activity on one of these apps involving the number of likes on a YouTube video. The Court observed that such activity is not skill-based and is dependent on chance.

The petitioner’s counsel raised concerns about inconsistencies in the affidavit, noting that while the government mentions enforcement actions, it also reports no complaints against certain platforms. The Advocate General requested time to file a more detailed affidavit in response to these issues.

The Court granted the request, allowing the state three weeks to submit a revised affidavit. The Union Government was also asked to file its response. The next hearing is scheduled for May 6, 2025.

In other developments, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has taken note of similar platforms. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) submitted a letter to Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Piyush Goyal, requesting a ban on opinion-based trading apps. CAIT referred to these platforms as “digital satta” and highlighted associated risks.

Similar concerns have surfaced in other parts of the country, where police departments and cyber cells have initiated probes into opinion-based trading platforms. In related developments, a Public Interest Litigation(PIL) was filed in the Gujarat High Court concerning opinion trading platforms MPL Opinio and Probo. The Mumbai Police has also filed a chargesheet against Probo and its founders. No legal action has been reported against TradeX so far. There have also been increasing calls from trader associations and civil society groups to ban such platforms, citing rising addiction and financial harm, especially among the youth. These instances underscore a growing nationwide crackdown on apps that operate in the grey area between gaming, prediction, and gambling.

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