The Madras High Court on Thursday upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act 2022, but held that it applies only to games of chance and not to games of skill such as rummy and poker1. The bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu partly allowed an application filed by online gaming companies challenging the Act, which came into effect on April 211. The case is WP 13203 of 20231.
The court said it could not set aside the Act in its entirety, but that its provisions should be restricted to games of chance1. It held that rummy and poker are games of skill and so the Act's provisions do not apply to them1. The court also observed that while the government could regulate games by restricting time spent playing and setting age limits on both games of skill and chance, it could not totally ban games of skill1.
"The court, however, added that the Act would not be applicable to games like rummy and poker, which were games of skill and will be applicable only against games of chance."
The companies had sought to quash the Act as unconstitutional and violative of their fundamental rights, and had asked for an interim stay and that no coercive steps be taken until the petitions were disposed of1. The court had refused to grant an interim stay, noting that the arguments for interim and final relief were the same and the matter could be decided in finality1. Earlier, an attempt to challenge the ordinance was withdrawn because the Act had not yet been notified1.
During hearings, Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited and arguing for online rummy, submitted that courts in India had repeatedly held rummy to be a game of skill, and that the presence of chance did not make a game one of chance where skill predominates1. Senior Counsel Aryama Sundaram, for the All India Gaming Federation, submitted that under Entry 31 of List I only the central government can legislate on wireless communication, and that the State cannot have parallel legislation on the same subject1. Senior Counsel Kapil Sibal, for the State, argued that only the State is empowered to pass laws on betting and gambling, and that rummy can be regulated if it involves gambling or brings in revenue1.
The Act defines "online gambling" as online wagering or betting, including playing any online game of chance for money or other stakes2. Poker and rummy were categorized as games of chance under it2. Tamil Nadu enacted the law effective 10 April 2023, and in August 2023 a five-member Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority was constituted2. Local online games providers must pay INR100,000 as a registration fee, and a certificate of registration is valid for three years unless suspended or revoked2.
What it means for players
For players in Tamil Nadu, the ruling means the state's online gambling law stands, but its prohibitions do not reach rummy and poker, which the court treated as games of skill1. Games of chance played online for money or stakes remain covered by the Act1. The court's observation that the government may still regulate skill games through time limits and age limits indicates that operating conditions for those games can be set even though a total ban is not permitted1. The Act's registration requirements for local online games providers remain in place2.
What happens next
The court refused an interim stay, so the Act's operation was not suspended while the case proceeded1. The judgment was delivered on a batch of petitions, including WP 13203 of 20231. No further steps are set out in the reporting.
