Madras HC allows partial lifting of ban by Tamil Nadu govt on online gaming

The Madras High Court on Thursday struck down the law banning online real money games such as rummy and poker for the second time.

According to the court, the ban can still be enforced for games of chance, but it should not apply to rummy and poker, which it said are considered games of skill. The All India Gaming Federation, Gameskraft, Games24x7, Junglee Rummy, and A23 were among the petitioners who argued that while the game is legally permissible when played physically, it becomes illegal when played online.

“By reiterating that online rummy and online poker are games of skill, this decision by the Madras High Court is yet another validation of what the online skill gaming industry has always maintained in relation to online skill games being a legitimate business activity protected under the Constitution of India," Roland Landers, CEO of the All India Gaming Federation said in a statement.


In July, the Madras High Court had refused to grant any kind of interim relief to online gaming companies pending adjudication of a batch of cases filed by them as well as the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) challenging the constitutional validity of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022.

AIGF's challenge of the TN Gaming Act was listed (alongside the challenges filed by Gameskraft, Junglee Games, Head Digital Works and Play Games 24x7) before the bench of the Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice P D Audikesavalu of the Madras High Court.