With the State government notifying in the Gazette, ‘The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022’, for which Governor R.N. Ravi granted assent on Monday, those violating the law could now be prosecuted and punished with varying terms of imprisonment.
The Act states that any person providing ‘online gambling service’ or ‘online game of chance’ shall be punished with imprisonment that ‘may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to 10 lakh rupees or with both.’
The Act seeks to end the highly lucrative online gambling advertisement market by preventing any person from ‘making or cause to make’ any advertisement (in any means of communication in Tamil Nadu) that directly or indirectly promotes online gambling or induce any person towards online gambling and states that such a person shall be punished with imprisonment that may ‘extend to one year or with fine which may extend to ₹5,00,000 or with both.’
As per the Act, the person(s) who indulge in online gambling or plays an online game of chance (rummy and poker) with money or other stakes (such as virtual credits, virtual coins, virtual tokens, virtual objects or any similar thing that is purchased within, or as part of, an online game) shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fines which may extend to ₹5,000 or with both.’
The Act proposes to establish the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority, which will be headed by an officer who has ‘retired from a post not below the rank of Chief Secretary to the Government’ and will consist of four members: an officer who has retired from a post not below the rank of Inspector General of Police, an expert in the field of information technology, a renowned psychologist and an expert in the field of online gaming.
The function of the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority will be to issue certificates of registration to local online games providers, identify ‘online games of chance’, oversee the functioning of online games providers in the State, collect and maintain information and data with regard to activities of the online games providers, resolve grievances or complaints received against any online games provider.
The Act also states that the ‘The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority’ will have powers to summon and enforce attendance of any person, receive oral evidence on oath or written evidence on affidavits, require the discovery and production of any document, requisition of any public record or copy from any court or office and issue summons for examination of witnesses or documents.
It also prevents banks, financial institutions or payment gateway providers from engaging in any transaction or authorise funds towards payment for ‘any online gambling or any online game of chance’.
While ‘local online games provider’ (whose service is hosted in the State) will able to provide any service only in ‘accordance with the certificate of registration duly obtained from the Authority’ and services (being provided before the law) can be continued as long as it is subject to the prohibitions of the act for 90 days, ‘non-local online games providers are prohibited from providing any online gambling service in the State and requires them to ‘geo-block’ their services in the State.
It urges non-local games providers to inform prospective gamers that Tamil Nadu prohibits online gambling and playing of certain online games while ‘physically present in the State’ and ‘enter into contracts with an express condition that the customers shall not use the service if they are in the State.’ If any person who is a ‘non-local games provider’ (whose service is not hosted in the State) is convicted, the punishment shall be imprisonment for a minimum of one-three years and a fine of ₹5,00,000-₹10,00,000.
Likewise, if any person (non-local games provider) is convicted again under the same provision, the person shall be punished with imprisonment of varying terms and a hefty fine.
- ‘The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022’, for which Governor R.N. Ravi granted assent on April 10, those violating the law could now be prosecuted and punished with varying terms of imprisonment.
- The Act states that any person providing ‘online gambling service’ or ‘online game of chance’ shall be punished with imprisonment that ‘may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to 10 lakh rupees or with both.’
- It also prevents banks, financial institutions or payment gateway providers from engaging in any transaction or authorise funds towards payment for ‘any online gambling or any online game of chance’.
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