Spending limit, night ban: How Tamil Nadu plans to regulate online gaming including rummy, fantasy cricket

Tamil Nadu is set to introduce new regulations for online gaming, which may include daily time and cash limits. The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority, established last year, has recommended that online gaming be banned between midnight and 5 a.m., with a daily play limit of four hours and each session restricted to two hours.

Cash Limits and Verification Requirements

Under the proposed rules, players may be restricted to spending no more than ₹5,000 per day and ₹20,000 per month on gaming platforms. Additionally, mandatory Aadhaar verification is expected to be introduced for all registrations on these platforms.

Survey Reveals Concerns

The proposals come after a survey of 150,000 children conducted by the authority revealed that many were using their parents' phones to access online games late at night. The survey highlighted a loophole where a one-time password (OTP) requirement for registration allowed children to misuse their parents' phones to continue playing.


"This loophole can be fixed by requiring authorised gamers of legal age to enter an OTP each time they log in," said an anonymous member of the authority. The member also suggested that apps should send pop-up notifications about time and money spent, similar to practices in China, South Korea, and the UAE, to curb addiction.

Industry Response and Limitations

The e-gaming industry initially suggested self-regulation for time and cash limits but the government has moved away from this approach. Ongoing discussions with stakeholders aim to establish guidelines for real-money games, such as online rummy and fantasy cricket. These games involve stakes and potential cash prizes. However, the proposed regulations will not affect entertainment-oriented video games, which do not involve monetary stakes.

“There could be money-in in certain games but no money-out,” explained Harish Chengiah, founder and CEO of Outlier Games. Chengiah noted that enforcing time and money restrictions on video games is challenging due to their smaller user base in Tamil Nadu compared to real-money games, which are popular among millions.