Madras High Court upholds Tamil Nadu's online gaming regulations

The Madras High Court has supported the Tamil Nadu government's authority to set restrictions on online gaming. This includes limits on time, age, and monetary spending for real money games. Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar filed a counter affidavit in response to new petitions from online gaming companies questioning these regulations. In a prior ruling from November 9, 2023, the court upheld the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022. The court found that the state can regulate games of skill, not just chance. A case regarding this ruling is still pending in the Supreme Court. Kumar argued that the current petitions should be dismissed since the first ruling reinforced the state’s right to regulate. He stated that the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) developed these regulations after consulting with stakeholders, including gaming companies. The regulations prohibit anyone under 18 years old from playing online real money games. They also require identity verification through Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, where players must authenticate their accounts with their Aadhaar numbers and receive a code via text message. Additionally, TNOGA mandates that gaming companies display warnings for players who play longer than one hour. They must also inform players about their spending limits and restrict gameplay between midnight and 5 AM. As some companies are beginning to comply with these regulations, the court has scheduled further arguments on this matter for March 27, 2025, after the petitioner companies requested time to respond to the government's affidavit.