HC strikes down blanket ban on online gaming with stakes

The Madras High Court on Tuesday struck down in its entirety the amendment to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act banning online games with stakes enacted during the last AIADMK regime.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy struck down the amendment after noting that the legislation assailed has to be regarded as something done capriciously, irrationally and which was excessive and disproportionate.

“The wide-ranging blanket ban on online games with stakes has completely failed to meet the ‘least intrusive measure test’ and hence falls foul of Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution (Right to practice any profession, trade or business),” the bench held along with noting that the amending Act is disproportionate to the object and ultra vires the Constitution.

However, the court made it clear that nothing in this order will prevent the Tamil Nadu government from introducing an appropriate legislation on the issue conforming to Constitutional principles of propriety in the field of betting and gambling.

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