Supreme Court Takes Charge: Ban Betting Platforms Debate

The Supreme Court has centralised four Public Interest Litigations (PILs) seeking bans on opinion trading platforms due to alleged illegal betting and gambling activities. The decision was made on Thursday after taking over the cases from various high courts.

A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made the ruling amid a transfer petition filed by Probo Media Technologies Pvt Ltd, a firm operating such a platform. Senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, representing the petitioner, indicated ongoing PILs across the Bombay, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh High Courts.

Social activist Sumit Kapurbhai Prajapati, represented by senior advocate Gaurav Aggarwal, argued that the issues in the petitions are distinct, especially the one in Chhattisgarh which critiques the legal structure surrounding gambling. The Supreme Court will now exclusively handle these cases, aiming to streamline judgments on this contentious matter.

(With inputs from agencies.)