Supreme Court Issues Notice On Tamil Nadu Govt Plea Challenging Madras HC Judgment Striking Down Online Gaming Ban Law

The Supreme Court on Friday (9 September) issued a notice on the plea filed to challenge the Madras High Court judgment striking down the ban on online games such as rummy and poker.

The SC bench comprising of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Vikram issued the notice on the petition filed by the state of Tamil Nadu.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the government of Tamil Nadu.

The matter will be tentatively be listed after ten weeks with respondents given 4 weeks to file replies.

The petition challenges the judgment passed by the High Court of Madras on 3rd August of 2021 by which the HC had struck down the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act of 2021, reports LiveLaw.

The amendment had imposed a ban on games like rummy and poker played on the internet with real stakes.

Ever since the order, opposition parties have been demanding the government to enact another law or file an appeal.

The Madras High Court had observed that betting in its original sense cannot be differentiated from gambling since the element of risk taking is betting.

Ever since the order, opposition parties have been demanding the government to enact another law or file an appeal. The government filed the appeal in November last year but never came up for hearing till date.

The government filed the appeal in November last year but never came up for hearing till date.

Notwithstanding the outcome of the appeal, the Stalin government has decided to enact a new law.

The state government in this regard had constituted a committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge K Chandru in June to analyse the impact caused by online gaming/gambling sites.

The committee submitted a report on 27 June in favour of a ban.

Subsequently, there were complaints from online gaming companies and also the public that their views were not taken into account.

The panel’s report pointed to the impact of online games at the societal level and how these games propel adolescents to misuse their parents’ credit cards, etc.

Political parties have been urging the government to enact a law expeditiously to ban these games.

A stakeholders’ meeting was called for and people were also asked to mail their suggestions earlier this month. The last date for submissions was set as August 12.

A press release in this regard was addressed to parents, students, teachers, activists, and psychologists.

The Tamil Nadu government has received nearly 10,000 mails from public on the call to provide views on the proposed gaming ban law.

The government is moving cautiously this time so to defend the law when it is challenged again by gaming operators.

(With inputs from Gateway To Gaming)