The Premier League club had sought a judicial review after the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) awarded West Ham preferred bidder status for the 486 million pound stadium earlier this year.
Spurs and West Ham, now in English football's second tier, both want to move into the venue in Stratford, east London, after next year's Games.
It is not clear whether Spurs will pursue their legal case or whether they will use Wednesday's decision to strengthen their hand in long-running talks with the government and Mayor of London Boris Johnson over a possible alternative new stadium next to their current site at White Hart Lane.
The decision puts in doubt London's planned bid to host the 2017 athletics World Championships because Tottenham would take out the running track as part of its development of the stadium.
High youth unemployment was one of the reasons given for this month's riots in England which began in ethnically diverse Tottenham after police shot dead a black suspect.
The riots have added new urgency to the talks, and the mayor's office had said only hours before the High Court decision that they were "hopeful" a deal could be reached.
"We are waiting to hear from Tottenham Hotspur on their plans to rebuild on their current site before any agreement on financial support from the Mayor can be confirmed," a spokesman for the mayor said in a statement.
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "We have noted the judge's decision today. The matter is in the hands of our lawyers."
The judge's task at this stage was only to decide whether Tottenham had an "arguable" case.
"We are disappointed that permission for a judicial review has been granted on some limited points but we are confident in our case," Baroness Ford, OPLC chairman said in a statement.
