The Madras High Court on Tuesday struck down a recent amendment made to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, passed in 1930, which imposed a ban on online gaming of rummy and poker with stakes.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy quashed the amendment made this year while allowing a batch of PIL petitions from Junglee Games India Private Limited and others.
The bench declared unconstitutional, Part II of the TN Gaming & Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, which banned betting or wagering in cyberspace and also games of skill if played for a wager, bet, money or other stakes.
By imposing a wide-ranging complete ban, the least intrusive test was violated and the ban had thereby fallen foul of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution (right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business), the bench said.
In 2018, the All India Gaming Federation released the Skill games charter, which is based on the four foundations of integrity, legality, global best practices and good governance.
The bench, however, granted liberty to the State to pass another legislation, without any lacunae.
Photo by Aidan Howe on Unsplash
