With inputs from Sarvesh Mathi Tamil Nadu’s much-awaited law banning “online gambling and games of chance” came into effect on April 21st, stated a gazette notification released a few days ago. Why it matters: Introduced in the wake of rising gambling-related suicides in the state, the law explicitly outlaws online games like rummy and poker, among others, as “games of chance”. This is despite the fact that courts across the country have upheld these games to be games of skill, which states can’t regulate. Remember: states only have the power to regulate gambling games, or games of chance. Unsurprisingly, skill-based gaming industry associations are reportedly already gearing up to challenge the law in court. The bottom line for now: Gaming companies have to stop offering online games of chance and online gambling (as defined under Tamil Nadu’s law) in the state. “Rummy Passion is our flagship game and Rummy has been ‘incorrectly’ banned under this state law passed by Tamil Nadu,” Bobby Garg, CEO of Passion Gaming, told MediaNama. “We have blocked access to Tamil Nadu players through geo fencing out of respect to the government direction to which we are not in agreement. Our IOS and Android Playstore are automatically aligned to the server-side Geo Fencing technology. The apps do not provide access to players from the state.” Garg added that the company’s terms and conditions have been updated to reflect restricted access. Rummy Passion was geo-restricted when we tried playing it after downloading it from the App Store and…