DMK leader and BAMA President Anbumani Ramadoss had his say in the ongoing case in Madras High Court between the state and online gaming companies regarding imposition of ban on online rummy. Ramadoss believes that senior legal experts should be hired to defend the Tamil Nadu government.
The ongoing battle between the state and companies regarding the legality of the games they provide is a very old one. Earlier in 2022, the government banned all forms of online gaming and labelled them as online gambling under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act.
“The trial of the case filed by the gambling companies against the law passed by banning online gambling in Tamil Nadu has intensified in the Madras High Court. As the famous lawyers of India are lining up on behalf of the gambling companies in the investigation of this case, the Tamil Nadu government should also prepare to face it,” he said in his statement as quoted by Oneindia Tamil.
Currently, lawyers Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Ariyama Sundaram and Sajan Bhuvaiah are representing various firms and online bodies against the ban on online gambling in Tamil Nadu. In the same vein, Ramadoss suggested that the state government should also hire some senior lawyers to defend the case.
Rummy is a game of skill under Article 141 of the constitution, says Advocate Mukul Rohatgi
In the most recent hearing, the companies argued that the state is ignoring the Supreme Court judgments by banning online rummy and poker. Senior defence counsel Mukul Rohatgi said that the law governing online gaming states that rummy is a game of skill under Article 141 of the Indian Constitution.
The companies argued that the Supreme Court has ruled that games of skill are separate from games of chance, and hence, they cannot be understood as gambling activities. Despite this, the state argued that due to games like online rummy, people are getting addicted and losing money, which has also led to countless suicides, not just in Tamil Nadu, but across the country.
Defending the gaming ban law, Anbumani Ramadoss also suggested that Supreme Court lawyers should be appointed to defend the state government. He further added that there is a need to stop the state from becoming a hot place for online gambling companies.
“Tamil Nadu should be stopped from becoming a hunting ground for online gambling companies,” he said.