The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday, March 23, unanimously re-adopted the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022. This is the second attempt of the Tamil Nadu government to enact a Bill to ban online gambling, after it was returned by Governor RN Ravi. The Governor had returned the Bill on March 8, asking the state government to furnish additional information and make certain changes.
Before reintroducing the Bill, Chief Minister MK Stalin recalled that several people in the state had died by suicide after losing money to online gambling. “I am standing here with a heavy heart. Forty-one people have lost their lives due to [online] gambling,” he said, adding that some of the victims’ suicide notes sought a ban on such games. Listing the recent developments related to the Bill, Stalin said that the Bill was being reintroduced, and would be sent back to the Governor. “Please pass the Bill unanimously. This is a Bill passed not just with the mind, but also our hearts,” he said, addressing the legislators.
“We might have a difference of opinions in ideologies and politics, but no one with a heart can have a difference of opinion over gambling that kills people,” Stalin said. He emphasised that the state government has the right to discipline and protect the people residing inside its state borders. He further argued that gambling was a matter over which states have the power to legislate. He referred to a recent reply from Union Minister Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP SR Parthiban’s question, which said that states have the power to legislate on ‘betting and gambling,’ as the subject comes under Entry 34 of List-II in Seventh Schedule of Constitution of India. List-II, or the State List, includes the subjects over which the state government has exclusive powers to make laws and policies.
A few DMK legislators also raised questions over the Governor’s controversial meeting with representatives of the E-Gaming Federation (EGF) in December last year, while the state government was awaiting his assent on the Bill against online gambling games. Other members of the House questioned why the Governor had assented to the ordinance but rejected the Bill which was similar.
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Soon after the Bill was returned on March 8, a state Cabinet meeting was held and it was decided to introduce the Bill again. State Law Minister S Regupathy had told mediapersons that the Bill would be tabled again, and any additions made by legislators would also be incorporated. He also said that when the Bill is sent for assent for the second time, the Governor cannot return it. Article 200 of the Constitution, which talks about the Governor’s powers with regard to assent to Bills, says that if a Bill is passed by the House a second time, with or without any amendments, and presented to the Governor for assent, the Governor shall not withhold assent.
The Bill to ban online gambling was passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time in February 2021, by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime, under the name of Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021. The Bill prohibited wagering or betting in cyberspace, and facilitating or organising the same. It proposed that those found guilty shall be punished with imprisonment for up to two years, and also levied a penalty. However, this was struck down by Madras High Court, terming it as unconstitutional. Observing that allowing the legislation in that form can be seen as erratic, unreasonable and also excessive and disproportionate, Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthil Kumar Ramamoorthy said that the ban would also be in violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India (right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business).
After the current Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government came to power, a committee led by retired Madras High Court judge Justice K Chandru was constituted to study the adverse effects of online gambling. The committee submitted a 71-page report on June 27 last year, strongly advising the government to enact fresh legislation to regulate online games. Following this, the Tamil Nadu government on September 25, 2022, approved an ordinance to regulate online gambling, and sent it to the Governor for his assent.
On October 7, 2022, the Governor gave his assent to the ordinance, following which The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022, was passed in the state Assembly on October 19. However, the Governor did not approve the Bill, and the ordinance lapsed on November 27. Even as the state government awaited his assent on the Bill regulating online games, the Governor held a meeting with representatives of the E-Gaming Federation (EGF) in December 2022. However, no details of the meeting were made public by the Raj Bhavan.
On March 8, the Governor returned the Bill, citing the House’s alleged lack of “legislative competence” to frame it. Pointing to this remark, Assembly speaker Appavu raised the question of whether the Governor had acted “under pressure.” He also stated that the Governor had earlier assented to the ordinance, but returned the Bill which was entirely similar to the ordinance.
Political parties cutting across party lines have been demanding the Tamil Nadu government's intervention to curb online gambling, after several people died by suicide when they lost huge sums of money to such games.