INDIAN GAMING STATESIDE
Tamil Nadu Law Minister hopeful of Supreme Court ruling in favour of online gaming ban
Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy said recently that a bad law was passed by the former AIADMK government and that is the reason for Madras High Court quashing it. Reiterating the need for legislation to
impose a ban on online gambling, Regupathy expressed hope that the Supreme Court would come out with a good judgment on the appeal fi led by the Tamil Nadu government against the order of the Madras High Court quashing the ban on online gambling. He was attending an event organized to
celebrate the birthday of the fi ve-time Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi. Recently, the Karnataka government fi led a similar appeal against the decision of the Karnataka High Court quashing a similar ban law. The DMK government is under intense
pressure from the opposition to enact an online rummy ban law. Earlier, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in the assembly said his government fully understood the evils of online gambling, which had destroyed many low-income families, and announced that a
special investigation team will be formed to investigate online gambling-related deaths. A Superintendent of Police from the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) would lead the SIT. AIADMK coordinator O. Panneer Selvam
(OPS) said in a press release on June 3that gambling is a drug and demanded the DMK government ban online rummy and other games. Referring to Chief Minister Stalin’s statements, OPS said so far no action is taken by the DMK government. Tamil Nadu state industries minister
Thangam Thennarasu said that the DMK government is determined to enact strong legislation for banning online rummy in the State. More recently, Tamil Nadu DGP C. Sylendra Babu has warned the public that playing online rummy could lead to debt and suicide. The top cop said the number of people losing money and jewelry due to online gaming has increased in the last few months. PMK Chief Anbumani Ramadoss recently
met Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi to press for a ban on online rummy & discuss other issues. Governor Ravi expressed surprise over the online rummy issue and said he was not aware of the issue but will look into the matter for initiating appropriate action.
Tamil Nadu: Online gaming ban must satisfy tests of necessity and the trade-off
Tamil Nadu’s DMK-ruled state government has constituted a committee headed by Justice K Chandru to submit a report and recommend a strong law to be brought into as an ordinance to ban online gaming (rummy and other skill games). The Madras High Court’s fi rst bench comprising
then Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy August last year struck down a legislation Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act of 2021 as being ultra vires the constitution. The decision is currently challenged before the Supreme Court. The High Court held that the legislation
infringes upon the rights under Article 19 (1) (g) of the constitution which ensures the right of anyone to practice any profession. Subsequent to the Madras High Court decision, the high courts of Kerala and Karnataka had also struck down the gaming ban laws enacted in those states. “When the Madras HC quashed the amendment brought by the state in 2021, the judges held that there is nothing technical to prove that the game is offensive. The court held that the government had merely submitted some emotional anecdotes. Therefore, the government
should consider the technical issues with the game while passing the statute to ban the game,” the advocate Ramalingam told DT Next. “While playing rummy online, we don’t know
with whom we are playing on the other end. It is clueless that the people who play in the opposite may be either a human or an AI (Artifi cial Intelligence) machine. When a person is entering the game, the AI will assess his strengths and weaknesses in the game in just three or four moves and the algorithms could be changed making the game tougher for him,” Ramalingam was quoted by DT Next. Interestingly, the technical member is a chemistry professor and not related to information technology or computer science. It may be noted that any legislative action that
is too disproportionate or excessive, may suffer invalidation on the ground of ‘manifest arbitrariness.’ As held by Courts, a ban must satisfy the twin counts of its necessity and the trade-off or adverse impact, if any. The Committee must explain cogent reasons to
support any ban given the fact that multiple High Courts have held a blanket ban infringes upon the fundamental rights. A law backed by good
reasoning can pass the test of legal scrutiny. As said by the Chief Minister a “strong law” (ordinance) against online rummy can serve as an example for other states which are facing similar issues.
Founded by industry veterans, G2G News is an independent news portal covering all developments relating to online
gaming, poker, gambling, casino, cricket betting and esports in India and the Indian subcontinent.
www.g2g.news JULY 2022 27
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