India’s southern-most state of Tamil Nadu has promulgated an ordinance to ban online gambling, including poker and rummy, in response to recent reports of citizens committing suicide due to gambling losses.
As reported by Indian gaming news site GLaws, Tamil Nadu becomes the third state to ban online gambling in recent months after Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and could soon be joined by a fourth with Karnataka making noises about a similar move. India is comprised of 28 states and eight union territories.
The Tamil Nadu government, whose ban specifically targets the operators of online gambling sites and those facilitating transactions, issued a statement last week which read, “Due to online gaming, innocent people mainly youngsters are being cheated and some people have committed suicide.
“In order to avoid such cases of suicide, and protect innocent people from the evils of online gaming, the government has submitted a proposal to the Governor to promulgate an ordinance by amending the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, 1930; Chennai City Police Act 1888 and the Tamil Nadu District Police Act 1859.”
Karnataka last week hinted at issuing its own ban on online gambling with Home minister Basavaraj Bommai stating, “Online games are ruining many lives in the state. We have noticed it. Many illegal gambling and betting websites have mushroomed during the lockdown. We need to put an end to such a menace.”
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