Now Reading: Bihar’s new anti-gambling law clashes with central PROG Act, says expert
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Bihar’s new anti-gambling law clashes with central PROG Act, says expert
Bihar’s new anti-gambling law clashes with central PROG Act, says expert
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,…
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.
Source: medianama.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
