CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has recently notified the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, which was given assent by Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi on April 7.
Chief minister M K Stalin told the assembly that the governor had given assent to the Bill. “It will be gazetted today itself,” the CM said. Even as the assent was dated April 7, the Raj Bhavan informed the state government only on April 10 (Monday), the day when the legislature passed a resolution moved by the chief minister, urging President Droupadi Murmu and the Union government to prescribe a specific time limit for the governor to give assent to bills passed by the assembly.
The state government enacted the legislation as several people died by suicide over the loss of money in online games. The Madras high court had earlier struck down the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, which banned wagering or betting in cyberspace, as it ultra vires the Constitution.
The DMK government had constituted a five-member committee under the chairmanship of retired judge Justice K Chandru to advise on enacting a fresh legislation on online games. Following the recommendations of the committee and after holding a public consultation, the state government promulgated an ordinance and subsequently passed a Bill along the same lines. The governor returned the Bill, asserting that the state had no legislative competence to adopt the Bill. The assembly readopted the Bill with no amendments on March 23.
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