Madras HC sets aside Tamil Nadu ban on online rummy and poker

Subject : Polity

Section: Judiciary

Context: Madras HC sets aside TN ban on online rummy and poker

More about the news:

The Madras High Court upheld the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, differentiating between skill-based and chance-based online games.
Rummy and poker, considered games of skill, were excluded from the Act’s prohibition.
The court, led by Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice P D Audikesavalu, dismissed writ petitions challenging the Act’s constitutionality.
The legislation, enacted in response to a committee led by retired Justice K Chandru, was initially met with concerns and returned by the Governor.
However, the court affirmed the state’s authority to regulate online gambling while recognizing its role in overseeing online skill-based games, emphasizing the need for responsible regulation.

Some facts about gambling in India:

The Gambling Act, also known as The Public Gambling Act of 1867, is the law governing gambling in India.
Gambling is regulated by individual states, and they are responsible for crafting laws pertaining to gambling within their jurisdictions.
Goa and Sikkim are exceptions, as they have legalized and regulated gambling and betting within their states, with Goa also permitting casinos.
Some states, such as Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, have enacted specific laws to regulate online gaming.
However, only Nagaland and Meghalaya have separate regulations for “games of skill.“
Fantasy league betting, such as fantasy football and cricket, has generally remained unregulated across India, although Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Assam have imposed bans on it.
Additionally, Telangana and Karnataka have banned all forms of online gaming and gambling, and similar laws were passed in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. However, the laws in Kerala and Tamil Nadu were challenged and subsequently overturned in court, exempting games of skill.