Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR) has slammed Governor RN Ravi for meeting representatives of the E-Gaming Federation (EGF) at Chennai’s Raj Bhavan on December 5. “No one told me a special bench (adjudicate prior to notification of a law based on a bill passed by the assembly) had been opened at Guindy. Reminiscent of the we are asking questions NOW because we MAY have to hear a plea IF a law is passed AND it is challenged logic,” PTR said.
No one told me a special bench (adjudicate prior to notification of a law based on a bill passed by the assembly) had been opened at Guindy ♂️
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) December 7, 2022
Reminiscent of the “we are asking questions NOW because we MAY have to hear a plea IF a law is passed AND it is challenged” logic, no https://t.co/KHefx5TdXY
The Governor met the EGF representatives in Chennai even as the Tamil Nadu government awaits him to assent to the Bill banning online gambling and regulating online games. The agenda of the meeting was not clear as the Raj Bhavan did not issue a formal press release on the Governor holding a meeting with members of the federation.
The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 was passed by the state Assembly on October 19, 2022. Governor RN Ravi had given his assent to an ordinance banning online gambling on October 1, but the ordinance lapsed on November 27, and the Bill is yet to be approved by the Governor.
According to sources, the delegation that met the Governor comprised Devhuti Bakshi, Director, Public Policy of E-Gaming Federation (EGF); Sanjiv Saddy, Chief Corporate Affairs, Junglee Games; Akshay Gupta, Associate Director, Public Policy, Games 24x7; and Sameer Chugh, Chief Legal Officer of Games 24x7. Other representatives from the E-Gaming industry were also part of the meeting.
An officer with the Public Relations office of the Raj Bhavan confirmed the meeting to TNM but refused to divulge any details over the phone. EGF representatives also remained tight-lipped about the meeting, terming it as “confidential.”
EGF is a Mumbai-based not-for-profit organisation to protect consumer interest and self-regulate the Indian e-gaming sector. On October 19, 2022, the federation had declared that it would challenge the ordinance promulgated by the TN government banning online gambling.