The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) has released its guidelines for the real-money gaming (RMG) industry, focusing on curbing addiction among young people playing pay-to-play games. Notably, this will mark the fourth legal case against the state by the RMG industry. Three of which the state lost to RMG industry.
Read more:EXCLUSIVE: Tamil Nadu regulates RMG, bans games from midnight till 5am
The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA), during an awareness campaign on the ill-effects of gaming, had strongly labeled gaming addiction as a mental disorder. TNOGA Chairman Mohammed Nasimuddin had stated that preliminary survey analysis suggests that about 20 percent of students in the state are addicted to online games.
Storyboard18 was the first to report on the restrictions imposed by TNOGA. According to an order copy obtained by Storyboard18, the Chairperson of TNOGA stated that all minors under the age of 18 would be prohibited from playing online real-money games. In addition to AADHAAR verification, online game providers must display pop-up caution messages when a player has been playing continuously for more than one hour. These caution messages should appear every 30 minutes, informing players of their total playtime.
The provision also enforces blank hours from 12 AM to 5 AM, leaving these regulations to be implemented in only one state, given the potential for varying regulations across different states in the future.
A spokesperson from a leading gaming company commented, “Imposing blackout hours on gaming contradicts the fundamental principles of a free and digital-first economy in a democratic country. As a responsible, homegrown platform, we prioritize user safety through Aadhaar verification, time and spending limits, and responsible gaming tools.”
Caution messages must also be continuously displayed on the login pages of real-money gaming websites and apps, warning users about the addictive nature of these games with the statement: “ONLINE GAMING IS ADDICTIVE IN NATURE.”
The spokesperson further stated, “Rather than restricting access for consenting adults, the focus should be on enforcing laws against illegal offshore gambling platforms that operate unchecked and pose a significant risk to users. Regulation should empower, not penalize, legitimate businesses and responsible users who are capable of making informed choices.”
Jay Sayta, a technology and gaming lawyer, noted, “The fourth round of litigation between the Tamil Nadu government and the RMG industry is expected over TNOGA’s new regulations restricting real-money games, imposing deposit limits, and enforcing blackout hours.”
“In the first round, the 2021 law passed by the Tamil Nadu government banning online games for stakes was struck down by the Madras High Court. In the second round, the industry withdrew its pleas as they were premature and filed before the new law was officially notified. In the third round, the Madras High Court partially struck down Tamil Nadu’s 2023 legislation, the state’s second attempt at banning online rummy and poker.”
“It remains to be seen whether, in the fourth round, the industry will once again prevail over the state government’s seemingly arbitrary mandates and restrictions.”
Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan, Tamil Nadu’s IT Minister, had told Storyboard18 that TNOGA reports to the Home Ministry, while the industry remains under the IT sector. Thiagarajan also noted that the state had held meetings and was in the process of forming a formal working group.
“We’ll clean up the gazette notifications and interpretations so that the focus is clearly on real-money games and does not impact other areas. But these are the growing pains of being a pioneer. When you’re the first to pass a law and establish an authority, it sometimes takes a few iterations to get it right,” he concluded.
It’s worth noting that in November 2023, the Madras High Court struck down the law banning online money games such as rummy and poker, declaring it “unconstitutional.”
A bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu ruled that while the state government has the authority to create regulations limiting the time spent on online games or imposing age restrictions on both games of chance and skill, it can only ban games of chance—not games of skill. The court further clarified that the Act could not be used to prohibit skill-based games like rummy and poker.