AIGF urges TN to reconsider online gaming ban, says move 'unconstitutional'

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider the ordinance passed by the state to ban online skill games. The industry body termed the move “unconstitutional” and said “it disregards 6 decades of established legal jurisprudence.”

The Federation also believes that the ban can have an adverse effect on the state and will push more and more people towards illegal offshore websites.

“What this ordinance in effect does is treat and conflicts games of skill as gambling and games of chance,” said Roland Landers, CEO of AIGF.

“As the apex industry body for online gaming, we at the All India Gaming Federation have been engaging with the government to understand their concerns and have also made them aware of the proliferation of offshore gambling websites and apps which flourish when constitutionally protected Indian apps are banned. We had provided various consumer protection and other measures which stop short of an outright ban,” he added.

The Federation said that India is the fifth largest online gaming market globally and skill-based gaming, a sunrise sector, is giving birth to an increasing number of unicorns within the country. A ban may, therefore, push people towards illegal offshore websites.

“The (gaming) sector has been a strong financial contributor to the Indian economy even during an unprecedented period of slowdown and is further expected to generate revenues in excess of 5 billion by 2025. Any form of the ban will impact the overall business of a sector, as will the overall online skill gaming ecosystem due to the recent Tamil Nadu ordinance,” Landers added.

The body emphasised that the gaming sector needs the support of state governments now more than ever.

The ordinance came after the Madras High Court struck down a gaming law amendment that prohibited betting on online games in August last year.

“What is also surprising is that the state government has already appealed the judgment of Madras High Court (HC) and the Supreme Court (SC) had recently issued notices on the same. Instead of waiting for the SC judgment and in the meantime respecting the categorical decision by their own HC, they seem to have taken another unconstitutional decision which will eventually only benefit online gambling operators,” Landers said.

The Tamil Nadu High Court earlier passed a detailed judgment striking down the Tamil Nadu law which prohibited online games of skill, as unconstitutional. The Court clarified that any restriction on games of skills, whether online or offline, whether for stakes or not, needs to be narrow and the state should try and regulate, instead of ban, the federation revealed in a statement.

The Court also came down heavily on the State government for passing the law as a populist measure in the lead up to state elections, without following the established law.

“AIGF and all the professional players sincerely hope that the government of Tamil Nadu is listening to the concerns, and will seriously reconsider the ordinance,” the statement said.