# Bihar’s new anti-gambling law clashes with central PROG Act, says expert 2026-08-26T21:07:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Bihar has become the first state to notify a fresh anti-gambling law after the Centre's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, creating a legal overlap. The Bihar Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2026, notified on August 13, repeals the 159-year-old Public Gambling Act and bans all gambling, both offline and online, without exempting games of skill. Technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta explained that while states like Haryana and Chhattisgarh protect skill-based games, Bihar chose to ban all games played with money. The Supreme Court's Junglee Games judgment affirms gambling is a state subject, but review petitions are pending. Sayta noted that geo-fencing and KYC can enable state-level regulation, while the central law could handle cross-border cases. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The conflict between Bihar's blanket ban and the PROG Act exposes a deeper legal uncertainty. The Supreme Court's Junglee Games ruling, which declared gambling a state subject, is under review, and a larger bench could alter the balance of power. If the court upholds the verdict, states gain full authority to ban or permit gambling as they choose, fragmenting the national market. The Hindi-English discrepancy in Bihar's Section 17, where the Hindi text omits 'state law', could be tested in court. The Supreme Court review hearings, expected in the coming months, will decide whether the Centre retains any say over online gaming within state borders. ## Coverage - medianama.com Presents expert legal analysis without taking sides in the Centre-state conflict This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Bihar, Jay Sayta, online gaming, PROG Act, Supreme Court of India Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bihars-new-anti-gambling-law-clashes-with-central-prog-act-says-expert/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bihars-new-anti-gambling-law-clashes-with-central-prog-act-says-expert/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/