Bill Against Online Gaming

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Context: The law against online gambling is re-adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Details

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill was once again adopted by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
The bill was initially approved by the assembly on October 19, 2022, but the governor of Tamil Nadu returned it on March 6, 2022, claiming that it violated the constitution and went against court rulings.
The Justice K. Chandru Committee's recommendations were used by the State government to draft the Bill.

State Government argument in favour of the Bill

According to the Chief Minister, he was introducing the Bill because "44 persons have died by suicide after suffering the significant financial loss in online gambling."
In July 2022, the School Education Department carried out a separate study to determine the impact of online gaming on students. Overall, 2,04,114 teachers have responded with messages.
- 74% of them believed that kids' ability to focus had been harmed by online games.
- Online games have a negative effect on kids' intelligence, writing abilities, and creativity, according to 64% of teachers.
- The games have also negatively impacted students’ self-confidence and sense of discipline and encouraged anger in them.
According to the Chief Minister, the administration also sought out the opinions and viewpoints of members of the general public, parents, teachers, students, young people, mental health counsellors, and social activists.
- CM said that “the public sent in 10,735 emails in all, 10,708 of which called for the prohibition of internet gambling. Only 27 emails, were in favour of internet gambling.”
According to the CM, "We cannot manage the administration while putting our consciences aside. The protection and welfare of individuals are the goals of all laws. "
According to section 34 of the 7th schedule of the Constitution, the states have the authority to pass laws that forbid online gambling.

Online Gaming Industry:

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Critically Analyze the need for a strong policy framework to maximize the potential of the country's online gaming industry.