State Government Notifies Gaming Authority to Implement Regulations of Online Games Act
CHENNAI, India (April 23, 2023) — The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act has come into force in the state. The state government on Friday notified the ‘Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority and Regulation of Online Games Rules,’ to implement the legislation. It mandated every online game provider to apply in a month to get a certificate of registration from the gaming authority.
The five-member gaming authority would be led by a retired bureaucrat, not below the rank of chief secretary, and is empowered to issue show cause notice to an online games provider if they fail to comply with the provisions. The authority can revoke the registration if required. It will have to submit to the government an annual report on the outcome of regulatory measures undertaken, plan for the year ahead, number of certificates and show-cause notices issued, among other things, by October 30 every year.
With the law coming into force, playing online games of chance, rummy and poker, with money or other stakes is banned. Any person, who provides online gambling services, would be punished with imprisonment for a term that may extend to three years or with a fine that may extend to 10 lakh.
The rules notified on Friday mandated every person, who intends to provide any service for the conduct of any online game, whose central management and control of the service would be located in Tamil Nadu or host such service in Tamil Nadu or every local online games provider, who is providing any service for the conduct of any online game immediately before April 21, shall make an application within 30 days therefrom for grant of certificate of registration to the gaming authority, on payment of a fee of 1 lakh.
The four-page application demands, among other things, details of game safety, including user authentication, limits of playing hours, addiction blocking availability and its notification interval. The game provider will have to explain other embedded technologies/methods adopted under gaming applications – the details of artificial intelligence, BOTs under gaming and method of random number generators used under gaming.
Any person aggrieved by an order of the gaming authority revoking or suspending the certificate of registration can prefer an appeal within a fortnight to an appellate authority notified on Friday.
SOURCE: The Times of India.
