Tamil Nadu Stands Still On Online Gaming Ban Despite Central Regulations

The trouble for online gaming firms in Tamil Nadu seems to be not ending soon even when the Centre already notified related rules last week. Despite the government’s policies, the head of Tamil Nadu online gaming panel has reportedly called for a complete ban of such games in the state.

The head of the panel, Justice K Chandru, retired Madras High Court judge, is of the view that regulation is not the solution. Chandru told ET that the Tamil Nadu Government sees ban as the only option.

“These rules (the notification of gaming rules) do not change Tamil Nadu’s stance on online gaming. We don’t see any other way out except banning. Tamil Nadu will follow its own legislation,” he said.

Due to the difference in gaming legislation, there are possibilities of a legal battle between the state and the Centre going forward. Tamil Nadu assembly again passed the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 last month. The Bill seeks to prohibit online gambling games, including rummy and poker, as well as regulate online gaming

Last year, the government constituted a committee headed by Justice Chandru. According to Chandru, regulation is not going to help because it is not going to stop people from playing online games.

Further, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has advised gaming companies to talk to the states, or hold roadshows with representatives from the ministry of electronics and IT to clarify the new guidelines.

Under the List-II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, states have the power to legislate ‘sports’ and ‘betting and gambling’. Among other states which passed regulations on online gaming, Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra welcomed the new set of regulations, while Ratan Kelkar, IT secretary of Kerala said they would examine the matter.

Last week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the rules for online gaming following months of consultation.

“These rules don’t deal with all the nuances and the sophistication of games of chance games or skill. We bypass that and basically lay out a basic principle that the moment an online gaming passes into involving betting and wagering, regardless of the core content of the game, then it falls afoul of these rules,” Chandrasekhar said.

Considerably, the minister noted that the government saw over the last several months, many startups crying foul of state regulations.He added that it is often confusing for startups to have to deal with ambiguous legal frameworks.

“We hope that these rules will create a much more stable, consistent, predictable framework for all those startups that are interested in the online gaming ecosystem,” he said.