CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday notified the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, which was given assent by governor R N Ravi on April 7.
Chief minister M K Stalin on Monday told the assembly that the governor had given assent to the Bill. “It will be gazetted today itself,” the CM said.
Even as the assent dated on April 7, the Raj Bhavan informed the state government only on April 10 (Monday), the day when the legislature passed a resolution moved by the chief minister, urging President Droupadi Murmu and the Union government to prescribe a specific time limit to the respective governors to give assent to the bills.
The state government enacted the legislation as several people died by suicide over the loss of money in online games. The Madras high court had earlier struck down the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, which banned wagering or betting in cyberspace, as ultra vires the Constitution.
The DMK government had constituted a five-member committee under the chairmanship of retired judge Justice K Chandru to advise on enacting a fresh legislation on online games. Following the recommendations of the committee and thereafter a public consultation, the state government saw an ordinance promulgated and subsequently the passage of the Bill. The governor returned the Bill, asserting that the state had no legislative competence to adopt the Bill. The assembly readopted the Bill with no amendments on March 23.