Madras High Court to hear Tamil Nadu online gaming ban challenge

The Madras High Court will hear online gaming firms’ challenge against the ban on July 13.

India.- The Madras High Court is to hear writ petitions filed by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and several online gaming firms challenging the validity of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022. The hearing is set for July 13.

Representing the online gaming firms, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, for Junglee Rummy, A23, and Games24x7, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for Gameskraft, argue that the new law is unconstitutional and contradicts various judgments made by the Supreme Court and High Courts. 

Rohatgi argued that online games like rummy and poker are games of skill, and Singhvi highlighted that recent bans on online rummy passed by the Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala governments had been struck down.

In a recent hearing, they sought interim relief, but senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the state government, opposed the plea, stating that a similar request had been previously denied by a division bench. Chief justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala declined to grant interim relief and set a date for final arguments. Kapil Sibal can present his submissions on or after July 20.