Factual background 

In the matter of All India Gaming Federation v State A number of legal challenges to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, which outlaws several online gaming apps in Tamil Nadu, have been filed by the All India Gaming Federation and several online gaming companies. They claim that the law is unconstitutional and that it leads to people losing their hard-earned money in the online gaming trap.

Argument Advanced 

The petitioner respectfully stated that the main disagreement is between private and public interests. The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, must be examined by the Court to determine its purpose. It is necessary to safeguard the Tamil Nadu population. All internet gambling and “games of chance,” including online rummy and poker, are forbidden by the Act.

According to the defendant, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, is wholly “illegal.” He said that the State “mischaracterised” the game of rummy. Despite the State’s insistence that only “games of chance” and not “games of skill” were prohibited by the Act, he said, the State had erred by including online Rummy, which requires equal amounts of skill and chance, in the list of prohibited games. He asserted, “This Act is primarily for gaming and wagering that involve issues of chance rather than skill.” Rummy is a skill-based game.

Analysis of court decision 

The Tamil Nadu government told the Madras High Court that addiction to online gaming was “destroying families” and that its new Act banning all forms of online gaming was necessary to protect the citizens. This was noted by the Madras High Court bench, which is made up of Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. The Bench made it clear that it would not issue any interim orders, stating that such a decision could only be made after giving the State government notice.