Tamil Nadu Cabinet Approved Ordinance To Ban Online Gaming
Update: 2022-09-27 11:45 IST
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On September 26, the Tamil Nadu cabinet, headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin, enacted an ordinance banning online games with stakes in the state, throwing yet another setback to the fledgling but quickly expanding industry.
The action was taken as the Tamil Nadu government's petition to the Supreme Court was being heard. The petition is an appeal of a Madras High Court ruling that overturned the previous AIADMK-led government's ban on online games that required the transfer of money in November 2020. The state high court ruled it to be unlawful in a ruling on August 3, 2021.
All of the petition's respondents, including skill-based gaming companies Junglee Games, Play Games24x7, Head Digital Works, and industry body All India Gaming Federation, received notice from the Supreme Court on September 9 with four weeks to submit their responses, reported Moneycontrol. The case is anticipated to be mentioned in 10 weeks. Since then, the Karnataka government has filed a comparable appeal with the Supreme Court, which has been included to the case.
States like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka have pushed for legislation banning skill-based gaming. However, such changes to laws prohibiting online skill games have been declared illegal by the High Courts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Furthermore, the Tamil Nadu government further said that adults and teenagers were blowing through all of their savings and income playing these online betting games. Rummy may be a game of skill, but the Tamil Nadu government claims that employing stakes will turn it into gambling.