Chandigarh, June 20 -- The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on online opinion trading platforms, gaming applications, and related advertisements.

The petitioner had urged the Court to direct the Union of India to take immediate steps against such platforms for allegedly promoting betting and wagering in violation of several laws, including the Public Gambling Act, 1867, the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Act, 2025, and the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel refused to intervene, stating that a comprehensive statutory framework already exists to regulate s...