Tamil Nadu Moves Towards Banning Online Games of Chance and Gambling
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The state of Tamil Nadu has now banned online games of chance or gambling. Other online games will also be regulated. The ordinance was signed by Governor RN Ravi on October 1st and when the ban will take effect will be announced in the coming days.
Online gaming has been gaining so much following not only in Tamil Nadu but the whole of India. While this is good for the gambling industry, the states are aware of the activity’s risks.
Why is there a Need for a Ban?
The Tamil Nadu state said that online games and gambling are starting to become serious problems. Because of these activities, many families are getting ruined. There are also reports of suicides caused by gaming addiction.
A committee report also said that 99% of the emails from the public they received regarding online betting have mentioned recommendations for banning online games. The state believes that online gambling and unregulated games constitute a potent vice that could lead to aggressive behavior, reduced eyesight, and a decrease in productivity.
It was also said that gaming addiction is now affecting public health, disturbing social order, and prejudices the maintenance of public order.
A survey was conducted by the state government regarding the impact of online gaming on students. 74% of the teachers surveyed said that the focus of students is impacted by online gaming. Meanwhile, 67% said they noticed more students now have eye defects.
Over 74% of the teachers also observed that students seem to have a decrease in IQ, writing skills, and creativity. 76% of the teachers who noticed this said that the decrease was significant. Lastly, around 72% of the teachers noticed indiscipline among students.
With all that in mind, the government is trying to remedy the situation and find it best to ban said activities.
Not Tamil Nadu’s First Attempt
It’s not the first time that Tamil Nadu placed a ban on online gaming. Last year, the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws had an amendment concerning the ban on online gaming in the state. This was imposed on February 2021 but it didn’t take long before the High Court entered the scene.
On August 2021, the Madras High Court struck down the amendment because they found it unconstitutional.
The bench said that a wide-ranging ban is excessive and disproportionate to what the state was trying to achieve.
"Since 1968, the Supreme Court has made it clear that rummy is a game of skill and not a game of chances. Therefore, online rummy cannot be banned. This court, therefore, strikes down the amendment in its entirety as ultra vires the Constitution,” the Bench also explained.
However, even if the court ended up with this decision, they still explained that the state can still come up with constitutional law or amendment that could ban certain online gaming activities. A year later, Tamil Nadu announced that they will continue to move towards banning the activities.
Online Gaming industry to Challenge Tamil Nadu’s Decision
Of course, not everyone is in favor of Tamil Nadu’s recent decision. There are already groups that expressed the need to challenge the ordinance from the state.
Jay Sayta, a technology and gaming lawyer, spoke about how this ordinance categorizes online rummy and poker under games of chance. Sayta said that the state isn’t clear on defining whether online fantasy games are also considered games of chance.
Sayta said, “Such a regulation goes against years of established court regulations, which have segregated games of chance and skill. The law is trying to establish a new regulation of sorts where the two are not mutually exclusive.”
Shoubhik Dasgupta, a partner at a law firm called Pioneer Legal, also spoke about the issue.
“It is the same attempt from the government in a different guise, but the setting up of a regulatory committee will likely see them take a case-wise approach to regulate different games.
“For instance, slight variations to rules of various rummy games could push them towards being defined either as a game of skill, or chance, under the definition of this ordinance,” Dasgupta explained.
Aside from lawyers, people in the online gaming industry are also speaking up. Roland Landers, the CEO of the All India Gaming Federation, also shared his sentiments.
"The ordinance will result in a ban on most online games of skill, including rummy and poker. What this ordinance does in effect is to treat games of skill as gambling and games of chance. This is disappointing as it disregards six decades of established legal jurisprudence and also the recent judgment of the Madras High Court, which struck down a similar law,” Landers said.
"The State government has already appealed against the judgment of the Madras High Court, and the Supreme Court recently issued notices on the same. Instead of waiting for the SC judgment and, in the meantime, respecting the order of the Madras High Court, the government seems to have taken a decision that will eventually only benefit online gambling operators," he added.
Landers is concerned that the ban can have adverse effects on the state. According to him, this could just push more people towards illegal offshore gambling sites.
Sameer Barde, the CEO of the E-Gaming Federation also expressed his disappointment about the state’s decision in his interview with India Times.
Barde said, “We are surprised and disappointed at the Ordinance issued by the Tamil Nadu Government, which categorizes Rummy as a game of chance. Being a game of skills, Rummy has been settled by the Supreme Court and held to be a protected trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.”
According to Sayta, it’s likely that the ordinance will be challenged in courts as early as the week after the state’s announcement. However, this time around, the Tamil Nadu government is more prepared to stand by its decision to ban online games. That said, people can only wait and see if the ordinance won’t be struck down.
