Governor RN Ravi has returned the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill that was passed by the Assembly in October 2022.

According to sources, Governor Ravi returned the Bill saying that the state legislature did not have the power to legislate on the subject.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has been highlighting that many people in the state have committed suicide as they lost enormous amounts of money in games like online rummy. It also says that by not giving assent to the Bill, Governor Ravi is responsible for their deaths.

The Centre has moved towards regulating the online gaming sector. In January, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had brought in draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

These amendments prescribe some norms like registration of platforms, verification of users, user education, self regulatory bodies for these platforms, repeated warnings against financial implications and addiction etc.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai had earlier said at a press meet that the issue falls under the domain of 'cyberspace', which has usually been legislated upon by the Union and so it would be better if the Parliament passes a uniform law for the whole country.

As the Bill has been returned, the Tamil Nadu government can pass it again in the Assembly and send it to the Governor once more for his assent or wait for the Centre to bring out its regulations.