The Madras High Court had said in its 2021 judgment that a new law to ban online gambling may be enacted by the government and this made it clear the state legislature is competent to pass a Bill to ban online Rummy, Tamil Nadu law minister S Regupathy said on Thursday.

The HC had struck down on August 3, 2021 the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act 2021, which banned wager or placing bet in cyber space for other reasons and not on the premise of competence of legislature, the minister told reporters.

Hence, the HC had made it clear that the Tamil Nadu government had competence to enact a law to ban online gambling, he added. Governor RN Ravi had returned to the Tamil Nadu Assembly the TN Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill passed by the Assembly on October 19, 2022 stating the state legislature ‘lacked legislative competence.’

“It is not clear why the Governor has returned the Bill,” Regupathy said.

The reasons put forth by governor Ravi for sending back the Bill would be examined by chief minister M K Stalin. The governor is duty bound to give his assent when the Bill is adopted again in the Assembly, he added.

Earlier, the court had said that an appropriate legislation may be passed by the government conforming to the Constitutional sense of propriety in the field of betting and gambling.

After the Bill’s passage, it was sent to Raj Bhavan for the Governor’s assent and the government had repeatedly urged Governor Ravi to clear it.

Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox.