AIGF challenges Tamil Nadu online gaming ban at Madras High Court

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) says Tamil Nadu’s online gaming ban is unconstitutional.

India.- The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has filed a petition in the Madras High Court (HC) against the online gaming ban passed by the Tamil Nadu state government. The new law, which came into effect on April 21, bans online gambling and requires rummy and poker sites to geo-block users in the state.

AIGF CEO Roland Landers had previously said the organisation was going to contest the legality of the legislation, arguing that “it conflated games of skill with games of chance.” According to the AIGF, the new law violates the fundamental right to trade and commerce guaranteed by the Indian constitution.

The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority and Regulation of Online Games Rules bans all online games with stakes, without differentiating between games of skill and games of chance. However, the AIGF argues that a ban on skill games like poker and rummy is illegal, unconstitutional, arbitrary, and against previous judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

A previous Supreme Court ruling classified these as games of skill under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India and deemed them legal. Fantasy games like Dream11 and MPL are also included in the category of skill-based games.

The Tamil Nadu government has established an Online Gaming Authority to regulate online gaming in the state. The new legislation imposes fines of Rs 5,000 and three months imprisonment for violations.