The Supreme Court of India (SC) has taken up a petition seeking a nationwide ban on online gambling and betting platforms that ostensibly function under the guise of e-sports and social gaming. The petition was filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC), which argues that these platforms exploit legal gaps, resulting in “widespread social and economic harm”. The petition names multiple Union ministries and the app store operators Google India Pvt. Ltd. and Apple Inc. as respondents, asking for a direction to interpret the recently enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (POGA 2025) in a manner that prohibits online money-games.
The Korean resort and casino Kangwon Land announced that it welcomed approximately 147,550 visitors between 3 and 12 October 2025 during the extended Chuseok holiday period, the holiday that celebrates the harvest and family reunion.
Sri Lanka’s government has announced that it plans to have its newly proposed Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) up and running by June 2026, marking an effort to bring coherence and oversight to the country’s fragmented gambling sector. The legislative groundwork is already in motion: in August 2025, Parliament passed a revised gambling bill that consolidates earlier statutes covering casinos, betting, and horse racing, and empowers the GRA to regulate and license all gaming activities, monitor compliance, and enforce anti-money laundering rules.
The contest for downstate New York’s commercial casino licenses has shrunk to just three bidders: Resorts World New York City, Bally’s Corporation, and the joint Steve Cohen / Hard Rock International proposal. This follows the surprising exit of MGM Resorts, which withdrew its bid for a full casino at its Empire City Casino in Yonkers.
A retail outlet in Macau that sells cigarettes and liquor was recently raided after authorities uncovered illegal money exchange operations amounting to MOP 6.3 million. According to local reports, the store was facilitating unlicensed currency swaps—effectively operating as an underground exchanger that violates Macau’s stricter rules on gaming-related money flows.
Author: Janice Chew • Sunday, 19/10/2025
