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The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Madras High Court upholds night ban on online real money games in Tamil Nadu
The Madras High Court, on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) upheld the validity of a ban imposed by Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) on playing Real Money Games (RMG) between 12 midnight and 5 a.m. It also refused to interfere with requirements such as mandatory Aadhaar verification for playing the RMG. A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by online gaming companies and others to declare as unconstitutional Section 5(2) read with 14(1)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act of 2022. The petitioners had challenged the two legal provisions since they empower the TNOGA to impose restrictions such as time, monetary and age limits for playing RMG. The litigants had also urged the court to declare as null and void certain provisions of the TNOGA (RMG) Regulations, 2025. Denying any kind of relief to them, the Division Bench held the State legislature was fully competent to enact a law governing online games by invoking Entry 6 (public health and sanitation) and Entry 26 (trade and commerce within the State) of List II (State list) in the seventh schedule to the Constitution. 'It is a well known fact that so far as online real money games such as rummy and poker, it has (sic) created public heath risks in the State of Tamilnadu. This is elaborated in the expert committee reports whereby these games have posed serious mental and physical health risks to the citizens in the State,' the judges wrote. They agreed with Advocate General (AG) P.S. Raman and TNOGA counsel B. Arvind Srevatsa that the question of repugnancy would not arise at all in the present case since the State had not invoked any of the entries in List III (concurrent list of subjects on which both the Parliament as well as the State legislatures could enact laws). The court also recorded AG's submission that the night ban on RMG had been imposed based on research findings that self-control would be much lower and the dopamine levels, linked to reward-seeking behaviour, would be much higher during night hours thereby making real money gaming more addictive. On his part, Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak, representing the Director General of Police/Head of Police Force, told the Division Bench that as many as 47 death by suicides, due to addiction to online games, had been reported in Tamil Nadu between 2019 and 2024 and it was reason enough for the State to regulate RMG. 'This court concurs with the reasons adduced by the State Government for regulating online RMGs. The adverse effects are much larger to the people than the need for securing the individual right to free trade. Regulation becomes a priority to ensure the safety and protection of the general public,' the judges observed. Disadvantages of playing games of skill online Disagreeing with the argument of online gaming companies that there was hardly any difference between playing games of skill, such as rummy and poker, in person or through online mode, the court said, there were definitely certain risks involved when playing the games of skill through online mode. Authoring the verdict, Justice Subramaniam said, when playing the games in physical mode, the players get to read each others' mind even by the slightest hand movement, body language and facial expressions. However, they get to lose this advantage while playing the games of skill through online mode. In online mode, 'the players may not even know against whom the game is played... So it is imperative that the government take adequate steps to streamline and regulate these unexplored waters to ensure fair play and secure the physical and financial safety of the players indulging in these online RMGs,' the Bench said. The court also held it did not find any reason to dilute the Aadhaar requirement since it provides for two-step authentication to confirm that the RMG players were 18 years and above. Further, the scope for manipulation/deceit was comparatively lesser in the Aadhaar verification process than others, it said. Our country is distinct from the rest of the world The Division Bench also rejected the contention of online gaming companies that the State could not adopt a paternlistic attitude and restrict their right to trade and commerce just because of some random suicides involving individuals who could not have control over their actions. 'Our country is built on a social and cultural fabric which is distinct from the rest of the world. A random comparison with the rights or laws prevalent in other countries cannot be blindly applied here... Protecting rights of the people is first and foremost as derived from our Constitution. Hence, laws and policies must primarily be focused towards this ideal,' the judges concluded. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
New Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu cracks down on opinion trading apps
CHENNAI: About four weeks after the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) sent show cause notices to 15 firms running opinion trading apps, a few of them have stopped offering their services in Tamil Nadu, while others are expected to soon follow suit, official sources said. Opinion trading application, better known as prediction markets, is a relatively new concept to India in which users are allowed to place bets on the outcomes of future events, not restricted to sport alone. According to a senior official, these opinion trading applications, although operate on similar lines as any other betting applications, they use the terminology of 'shares' for the payout instead of money. For instance, from a sporting perspective, users can bet on whether a particular IPL team would win or not and buy 100 shares worth Rs 5 each. Similarly, users could also bet on political developments like whether a politician will get a particular post or win an election. If their prediction comes true, the value of the 'shares' they purchased goes up, which can in turn be monetised. 'Though it is marketed as a game of skill, it is a game of chance and an outright form of gambling according to me,' a senior Tamil Nadu government official, who requested anonymity, said. TNIE could verify that one of the 15 popular applications which received a show cause notice, Probo, has enabled geofencing (location restriction) for users in Tamil Nadu. The official said that the firms had proactively taken this step after the TNOGA notices, as they may not have wanted to risk their entire website/app offering other games getting banned in Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, some of the opinion trading platforms which have received notices from TNOGA include Probo, MPL and SportsBaazi. They were all flagged for allowing opinion trading. Probo and SportsBaazi recently shut operations in Haryana after the state introduced the Prevention of Public Gambling Act, 2025. Chhattisgarh too banned opinion trading apps recently. This development also comes a month after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had issued a warning against opinion trading platforms. 'In some cases, opinion trading platforms are designed in a manner so as to resemble an investment platform as they use terminologies such as profits, stop loss, trading, etc., which are terms closely associated with trades in securities. In view of the above, investors are advised to note that in general, opinion trading does not fall within regulatory purview of SEBI, as what is traded is not security,' the SEBI warning said.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Time of India
As gaming authority slaps notices, betting apps follow TN regulations
Chennai: A slew of notices issued by Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority to at least 25 firms running online gaming apps for violating the state's guidelines have had the desired impact, with the companies now not allowing players to enter games after midnight. Among other restrictions are warning pop-ups, cash limits, time-restriction options, and the apps not being available from midnight to 5am. Almost all the apps had been violating these rules until last month, mostly due to cricket games extending till late night because of super overs and rain. TNOGA chairperson M D Nasimuddin said some firms responded to the notices, promising that they would comply with the state norms. "A few of the top firms are complying with the rules now. Some are still not. TNOGA is also planning to write to MEITY to get a few other apps, who still haven't complied, banned in Tamil Nadu," he said. Now, though the apps still allow people to log in and select teams, they prevent them from joining real money contests. The companies are not entirely following the state's guidelines. Nasimuddin said they were awaiting a Madras high court verdict on the issue, and the restrictions were still valid during the interregnum period. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo TNOGA had received complaints of financial loss and is further investigating the impacts of the betting apps, he said. 'An Empirical Study on Victimisation on Online Gaming Fraud among Young Adults in Chennai', done by professors from University of Madras and MGR Educational and Research Institute and published this year, found that 42% of those who played online gaming lost money of less than 500, 37.3% lost about 500 to 1,000, and 6.8% lost between 1,000 and 5,000. About 12% lost money from 5,000 to 10,000, while 1.7% of the total players lost at least 1 lakh. About 15.3% responded stating that they faced emotional and psychological impact, and 8.5% said they faced reputational damage.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Online betting apps flout TN regulations at will; case awaiting Madras HC verdict
Representative image CHENNAI: Several online real money gaming apps , including top fantasy cricket platforms, are openly flouting Tamil Nadu govt's regulations designed to curb addictive betting behaviour among children and youths. A TOI check revealed that two top fantasy cricket platforms continued to operate beyond midnight, showed no pop-ups during play hours, nor displayed any warning messages. Users could easily create teams and enter betting rooms during restricted hours as violations have surfaced even as a division bench of Madras high court has reserved its verdict on appeals filed by the gaming apps challenging a single judge order in favour of the state's online gaming law and repeated violations, the state so far only issued notices to erring platforms without filing formal complaints. The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) regulations — notified under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 — continue to remain in force. While the court excluded online rummy and poker, citing them as skill-based games, it upheld the rest of the provisions being violated include a blanket ban on login and gaming between midnight and 5am, mandatory display of awareness pop-ups every 30 minutes, warnings on login pages and limits on monetary contacted, TNOGA chairperson M D Nasimuddin told TOI that the authority had issued notices to 25 firms, including major fantasy apps, urging them to comply with regulations. 'If they don't, we will write to the Union ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) to ban them in Tamil Nadu,' he said, adding that rain-truncated IPL matches and super overs go beyond the restricted hours, and this could be a reason why these apps operate after midnight.'But this doesn't exempt them from following rules. Even Aadhaar-based OTP systems to prevent bots are being bypassed,' he said. He pointed to the govt's internal analysis showing negligible odds of winning. 'We have experts who play for our study purposes. The chances of the majority of people winning is very low. We have also received two complaints from people, one involving substantial financial loss,' he said.A regular player told TOI that these apps mislead users through celebrity endorsements promising huge wins for as little as Rs 49 for entry per team. In these gaming apps, gamers bet on players to choose those performing well in the team so that they end up winning.'But most never even enter the top 1,000 rankings and end up losing money. There are no caps on how many teams a person can enter with, giving an edge to those who can afford more entries. It becomes a game of who can spend more,' Nasimuddin said, adding that those who can spend more can afford to pick uncapped players, who are greenhorns.'But if these players play, those who picked them could win.'Two state-conducted surveys — one with more than two lakh students and teachers and another crowd-sourced — revealed alarming trends. More than 70% of teachers reported diminished concentration, creativity and writing skills in students. A majority also noted increased aggression, eye defects and declining the legal front, the public appears overwhelmingly in favour of regulation. Of the 10,735 emails the govt received during consultations, 10,708 (more than 99%) supported a complete ban on online said they are studying the legal framework to get them banned.
New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Madras HC reserves order on plea against TN online game regulations
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday reserved the orders on the petitions filed by online gaming companies challenging the new regulations introduced by the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) to restrict and regulate the use of real money games (RMGs). Counsels for the parties filed written submissions when the petitions came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and K Rajasekar. Subsequently, the bench reserved the orders. The petitions were filed by the gaming platforms, including Play Games 24x7 Private Limited, Head Digital Works Private Limited, and Junglee Games India Private Limited challenging the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Activity (Real Money Games) Regulations, 2025. Their contentions are against regulation 4 (i), which prohibits those below 18 years from playing the RMGs, 4 (iii), which mandates KYC registration of players with Aadhaar number for opening gaming accounts on these online platforms and 4 (viii), which bans playing RMGs during 'blank hours' from 12 am to 5 am. Moreover, the gaming platforms also challenged the regulations which mandate compulsory pop-up caution alerts including that of 'online game is addictive'.
