CHENNAI: While the ruling DMK and its allies have accused Governor RN Ravi of delaying his approval of the TN Prohibition of Online Gaming and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022, state president of the BJP K Annamalai has said the government is to blame. On Wednesday, he took to Twitter to condemn and question the government.
Annamalai said that on October 3, the Tamil Nadu government passed an ordinance banning online rummy and poker, and introduced new regulations on online gaming. On October 7, the governor promulgated the ordinance, and meanwhile, the bill to ban online gambling was passed on October 19, he recalled.
However, the TN government told the Madras High Court on November 17 that the ordinance has not yet come into effect and is yet to be notified, he said and questioned why this was so.
He said that as per the ordinance, the TN Gaming Authority was to be created to formulate procedures to implement the law, and questioned whether it has been formed. Annamalai also highlighted that six people lost their lives to online gambling between October 8 and November 27. He said online gambling has continued in the state despite the ordinance because the state government failed to notify it.