Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K Stalin has slammed the Governor for his refusal to sign the bill outlawing online gaming, asking if it is because he believes that the Mahabharata contains gambling, hence it should not be banned.

“Are they not banning it considering that gambling was featured in epic Mahabharata?” said Stalin as quoted by Nakkheeran.

Stalin has also been among the people openly criticizing Governor R.N Ravi for his decision for not giving the assent for the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling & Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022.

The Bill was passed in the TN legislative assembly back in October 2022 and was sent to the Governor for his assent to ban online gaming in the state.

While the Governor gave his assent to the ordinance, he is yet to give his assent for the Bill. The Governor was further criticized after the ordinance banning online gaming in the state lapsed.

Stalin also recently spoke on the matter, saying that the Governor not giving his assent for the Bill is a mystery. He had said, “The Madras High Court passed an order saying that a law against online gambling must be passed. However, the Governor disrespected the ordinance we sent by not giving his assent. It is a mystery why the Governor did not give his assent.”

He went on to highlight how people are taking their own lives after getting addicted to online rummy and losing money playing it. Stalin also said the Union Government is planning to earn revenues by taxing these activities. He had said, “What can you say about the government that does not ban online gambling but levies a tax on them to make them legitimate?”

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling & Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 has included games like rummy and poker as games of chance and classified them as gambling. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has classified rummy as a game of skill under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.