The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK ) led Tamil Nadu govt is set to bring a law to ban online games like rummy and poker. The state’s Law Minister S Regupathy on Wednesday informed that the DMK government would soon bring a new law to ban online games such as rummy and poker. In an official statement, Raghunathy said Chief Minister MK Stalin had instructed the implementation of the law.
The announcement comes a day after the Madras High Court struck down a recent amendment made to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, passed in 1930, which imposed a ban on online games with stakes like rummy and poker.
On Wednesday, the DMK announced that it would bring in new legislation with proper reasons on why these online games must be banned. In a statement, Ragupathy said, following the demand of DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin, the then ruling AIADMK government urgently enacted an amendment to the Act on November 21, 2020 to ban the online rummy game and it was the reason for the court striking down the law.
Earlier, the online gaming companies that challenged the validity of the Tamil Nadu government’s ban, informed the High Court that the Supreme Court had clearly pronounced that online rummy could not be banned as it is a game of skill and not a game of chances.
Ragupathy said since public welfare is important, as soon as the order was passed in the court, Stalin had instructed clearly to frame the requisite rules, guidelines and reasons.
While hearing from online gaming companies, a Delhi High Court bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy had said that banning games like online rummy, which are skilled games, is against Article 19(1) which allows the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
The bench also observed that allowing the legislation, passed by the former AIADMK-govt, can be seen as erratic, unreasonable, excessive and disproportionate.
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