Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a bill which will ban and regulate online gambling games.
Background
The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 was tabled in the state Assembly on Wednesday.
It will come into force on the date notified by the government.
The move comes amidst widespread addiction to online games and gambling which has led to suicides, affecting mental health, and ruining families.
It also disturbed social order, the notification said.
The Tamil Nadu government had constituted a four-member panel under Justice (retd) K Chandru to examine the adverse effects of online rummy and to enact fresh legislation on online games.
The decision to impose the ban was based on the report the panel submitted.
Superstars endorsing gambling
20 people killed themselves in the state over the past three years after losing money and incurring debt due to online rummy.
Then the state’s political parties unanimously called for a ban on the game in the state.
Numerous influencers, actors, who advertised online rummy also came under fire for promoting games that seriously hurt the livelihood and the lives itself of many people.
Sources in the government said that the intention is not on banning the games but rather developing a mechanism to control them.
The state is planning to regulate the companies which run the games and also use social pressure against those who are becoming addicted to playing them.
Other attempts to pass legislation
The Tamil Nadu state government has made two attempts to pass legislation outlawing online gambling.
Per that legislation, no supplier of online games can offer online gambling services, permit the gaming of any online gambling that would require the use of cash or other risks or permit the gaming of any online game that violates the rules.
Other prohibitions that the ordinance to ban and regulate are:
- Online gaming in the state
- Online gambling
- Playing online games of chance (namely Rummy and Poker) with money and other forms of stakes
- Advertising in any media which directly and indirectly induces a person to play.
- No banks, financial institutions or payment gateways can engage in transactions.
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