Ban All Online Games Suggests Justice K Chandru-Headed Committee to Tamil Nadu Government

Earlier this month, the Tamil Nadu government set up a committee to promulgate an ordinance on online rummy. On Monday, June 27, the committee, headed by retired Madras High Court Judge Justice K Chandru, submitted its report. As predicted, the committee has towed the lines of the political consensus on the issue – ban online rummy and other real-money online games.

In its 71-page report, the committee has stated that no skill is involved in any online games, and they invariably lead to players getting addicted to the games and, over time, getting into debt. It ruled out the possibility of regulating the games, underlining that it was impossible to do so.

The committee suggested the government should pursue its appeal of the August 2021 Madras High Court decision that overturned the government`s blanket ban on real-money games in the Supreme Court. The appeal has been pending before the Apex Court for months and is yet to get listed for hearing.

However, according to Justice Chandru’s report, the primary move should be to bring in new legislation for banning all such games through a new ordinance. The banning of online games should be on the grounds of “public health and order” and not based on whether the games are “skill-based” or those of “chance.”

The state chief minister MK Stalin has announced that his government will discuss the committee recommendations in a state cabinet meeting later in the day. In an official press release CM Stalin said – “Considering the urgent need for finding a solution to the social problem (online rummy), an Ordinance will soon be promulgated based on the recommendations of the Committee.”

He added that the law would be a model for other states to follow. CM Stalin also tweeted the same on his official Twitter handle.

ஆன்லைன் ரம்மி விளையாட்டை தடை செய்வது தொடர்பாக தமிழ்நாடு அரசால் அமைக்கப்பட்ட குழுவின் அறிக்கையை குழுவின் தலைவர் ஓய்வு பெற்ற மாண்பமை சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்ற நீதிபதி திரு. கே.சந்துரு அவர்கள் மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் திரு. @mkstalin அவர்களிடம் வழங்கினார். pic.twitter.com/Ebcd9dZpyG

— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) June 27, 2022

The DMK-led state government is under immense pressure to enforce a ban on online games. On Monday, the opposition PMK party leader Dr. S Ramadoss took to Twitter to question what the government was doing on the issue.

தமிழ்நாட்டில் ஆன்லைன் சூதாட்டங்களை தடை செய்வது குறித்து அரசுக்கு பரிந்துரைப்பதற்காக வல்லுனர் குழுவுக்கு அளிக்கப்பட்ட இருவார அவகாசம் நிறைவடைந்து விட்டது. ஆனாலும், அக்குழுவின் அறிக்கை தமிழக அரசிடம் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டதாக இதுவரை தகவல் இல்லை!(1/3)#BanOnlineGambling

— Dr S RAMADOSS (@drramadoss) June 26, 2022

In a recent news article, The Hindu quoted a reliable source stating, “The report is to be scrutinized by multiple government departments before a decision on promulgating an ordinance is taken.”

The Recommendations

The four-member committee headed by Justice K Chandru includes S. Sankararaman from IIT Madras, Lakshmi Vijayakumar, a renowned psychiatrist and founder of Sneha, an NGO that works towards the prevention of suicide, and ADG (Police) Vinit Dev Wankhede.

The committee pointed out 17 suicides across the state in the last three years due to people losing money in online games. The report furnished approximate figures to indicate the substantial revenue generated by such online operators, claiming that such operators are interested in making more money and not developing player skills.

The report further highlighted the psychological effects of online gaming with stakes on peoples’ minds and how technology could be manipulated.

Here is a quick look at the top recommendations made by the committee:

> Ban all forms of online games played for stakes

> Prohibit all advertisements promoting such games

> Government should insist that the Union government enact a national-level law against online games played for stakes under Article 252 of the Constitution

> State government should develop new legislation outside the earlier framework, focussing this time on “public health and order” and not only whether skills are involved in the online games

> State should expedite its appeal in the case pending before the Apex Court, challenging the August 2021 order by Madras High Court wherein the court quashed the government’s online gaming ban

Any ordinance banning all forms of real-money online gaming would be a second of its nature by the Tamil Nadu government. In November 2020, the Tamil Nadu government promulgated an ordinance to ban all such games, subsequently passing a bill that enforced the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the very legislation which the Madras High Court struck down.

This is a developing story. Keep following PokerGuru for more updates!