Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin approved ordinance to ban online gaming

Madras High Court | The Tamil Nadu cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance to ban online gaming in the state. Online gaming will be banned in the state after the ordinance gets the assent of the governor. Let us inform that this decision has come to the fore at a time when the Supreme Court had on September 10 issued notice on a petition by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the Madras High Court's decision. In fact, earlier the Tamil Nadu government had banned online games like rummy and poker etc., but the Madras High Court struck down this law. After which the state government challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.

The Tamil Nadu government had moved the Supreme Court against the order of the Madras High Court, which struck down the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act of 2021. The state government had banned playing games like rummy and poker on cyberspace. However, the High Court had said that the state can enact a new law to regulate these sports. To which the Tamil Nadu government argued that teenagers and adults are losing their entire earnings and savings in these online sports betting. The Tamil Nadu government said that rummy may be a game of skill, but putting anything at stake will make the game a gamble.

States like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka have demanded a ban on skill games. However, the High Courts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have ruled such amendments to laws banning online skill gaming as unconstitutional. Talking about Tamil Nadu, the state government had been preparing for a long time to ban many online games including gambling. The state government's high-level committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge K Chandru had recommended a ban on online gaming. The committee submitted its report on June 27.