India's Supreme Court has turned down a bid by Junglee Games, 95% owned by Flutter Entertainment, to review a May judgment that upheld the right of states to prohibit real-money gaming, including games of skill. The ruling leaves state-level restrictions on such games in place and closes off the industry's latest route to challenge them.
The May case, State of Tamil Nadu v. Junglee Games India, confirmed that Tamil Nadu and Karnataka can ban betting on games of skill, reversing earlier High Court decisions that had sided with operators. The judgment, signed by judges J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, held that betting on games of skill poses a serious threat to the state and to public welfare, and does not gain immunity from the fact that it takes place within a game of skill.
Even a full win for Junglee would not have restarted the business. A nationwide ban on real-money online gambling, introduced by Narendra Modi's government in August 2025 and in force from 1 May 2026, remains in place. A separate constitutional challenge to that ban is still pending before the Supreme Court under the lead case Head Digital Works v. Union of India. The petitioners are contesting the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025, including the division of lawmaking powers between the central government and the states.
What it means for Flutter
Flutter paused Junglee's operations in August 2025 after Modi's intervention, by which point it had spent more than $200m on its majority stake. The ban led to 350 layoffs, with 600 staff planned for redeployment to the company's Hyderabad Global Capability Centre, while the business explored a pivot to free-to-play. A notice on the Junglee website states that all of its games have been discontinued.
For affiliates and media buyers working with Indian traffic, the decision shuts the last legal opening at state level. The constitutional case is now the only track that can change the rules for the whole market.
