CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday struck down in its entirety the amendment brought by the state government to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, which banned online games including online rummy and online poker with stakes.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in its order said, "..... by imposing a wide-ranging, complete ban, the amendment has failed the least intrusive test and fallen afoul of Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution."
The bench also while dictating the oral orders said that the amendment of the gaming act itself was capricious, irrational, excessive and disproportionate.
The issue pertains to a batch of pleas moved by online gaming companies challenging the ordinance passed by the state banning online games in November 2020.
The petitioners questioning the legal validity of the ordinance promulgated by the Tamil Nadu government banning online rummy, stated that the Supreme Court, as well as various High Courts across the country, had, in a series of judgments, consistently held that rummy was a game of skill and not a game of chance.
However, the state argued that it banned online betting games including the card game rummy because it has led to the death of seven persons by suicides in the past five years alone along with other crimes.