The Esports Players Welfare Association (EPWA), along with a group of professional gamers from Tamil Nadu, has challenged the recently introduced Tamil Nadu Regulations on Real Money Gaming, 2025 in the Tamil Nadu High Court. Storyboard18 had first reported about three Real Money Gaming (RMG) firms A23, Games 24×7 and Junglee Games filing a writ petition in Madras High Court seeking injunction on the newly enforced TNOGA Regulations, 2025.
The petition filed by EPWA and professional players argues that (i) the regulations infringe upon the fundamental rights of online gamers under the Indian Constitution under articles 14, 19 and 21, severely impacting the professional gaming community; (ii) states do not have the competence to pass such a regulation under the constitutional scheme and skill games can only be regulated by the central government, under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; and (iii) the regulation proceeds based on erroneous and non-existent data and is ex-facie arbitrary.
EPWA represents a wide community of players in Tamil Nadu including some of India’s professional poker players such as Vikram Kumar Lungi, PS Rathanvel, a chess prodigy. The list of petitioners also includes Aditya Sushanth Donka—a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Bracelet winner.
Vikram Kumar Lungi, APT Champion, said, “Just because we are in Tamil Nadu, we are being given step-motherly treatment. The entire country plays freely, and international events happen at night. Why Should we be restricted when everyone else can compete without limitations? Gaming is my profession, and I cannot afford to have my work dictated by outdated policies.”
PS Rathanvel, said, “Only i know what it means to compete globally. Chess requires strategy, patience, and facing the best minds in the world. Restricting us from playing at night is like telling an athlete they can’t train during peak competition hours—it makes no sense.”
Aditya Sushanth Donka, WSOP Bracelet Winner, said, “Many players in competitive games are office-goers who return home late at night and play serious poker after work. If these laws stay, India will be the only place where playing at night is illegal—not because of any harm but because someone decided that 12-5 AM should be sleeping hours. That is not how professional gaming works.”
EPWA and players have challenged these restrictions on three key grounds:
Violation of the Right to Livelihood: Professional gaming is a legitimate career for thousands, and restrictive hours severely curtail their ability to earn a living.
Competitive Integrity and Global Participation: Many competitive and international games occur during late-night hours, and restricting gameplay reduces Indian players’ access to competitive play.
Arbitrary Restrictions: The government’s assumptions about sleeping hours (12 AM – 5 AM) fail to consider the reality of professional gaming and the working patterns of many players.
Storyboard18 had earlier reported that the RMG industry was preparing to take legal action against the Tamil Nadu government over its “blank hour” regulations, which would prohibit gaming between midnight and 5 AM.
As per the petitions filed by A23, Games 24×7 and Junglee Games, the RMG operators have prayed to declare provisions Section 5 read with Sections 14 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 and Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (Real Money Games) Regulation 2025 as ultra vires discriminatory arbitrary void illegal and unconstitutional in so far as its application to online real money online games of skill i.e. online games of skills when played with money and pass. The matter is yet to be listed.
The respondents include State of Tamil Nadu, Director General of police of Tamil Nadu, TNOGA and MeitY. Interestingly, all the RMG taking the legal action are members of E-Gaming Federation. All India Gaming Federation members will likely not file a case against the government, sources say.