Madras High Court upholds night ban on online real money games in Tamil Nadu

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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)

Published - June 03, 2025 02:47 pm IST