Chennai:The Tamil Nadu government on Friday set up a four-member panel headed by justice K Chandru (retired) to give recommendations for the promulgation of an ordinance to regulate online gaming. The announcement to set up a panel led by the retired Madras high court judge comes days after a 29-year-old woman in Chennai died by suicide after allegedly losing about ₹10 lakh in online rummy.
Tamil Nadu banned online gaming with stakes in November 2020 but the provision was struck down by the Madras high court in August 2021, which held that the amendment to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act was in violation of the Constitution.
The MK Stalin-led government moved the Supreme Court against the high court verdict but the case is yet to be heard.
The committee will also comprise Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) expert Sankararaman, Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist and founder of SNEHA – an NGO for prevention of suicide – and additional director-general of police Vinit Dev Wankhede, the state government said.
The statement followed a meeting chaired by chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday which took note of many people getting addicted to the game and the recent suicides after people lost their money.
The panel will examine the adverse effects of online rummy such as financial loss, suicides and the need to regulate advertisements promoting online rummy which impacts society.
{{/usCountry}}The panel will examine the adverse effects of online rummy such as financial loss, suicides and the need to regulate advertisements promoting online rummy which impacts society.
{{/usCountry}}“Based on the report of the committee, an ordinance would be promulgated considering the need to find a solution to this issue at once. It would be a model for other states to follow,” the statement said.
The committee was set up against the backdrop of the death of a 29-year-old woman in Chennai on June 6 who was allegedly addicted to online rummy during the Covid-19 lockdown. The woman, who died by suicide, had borrowed money from her sisters and sold her jewellery to play the game, police said. She was unable to repay the debt after she lost the game, police said.
Anbumani Ramadoss, president of Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an NDA ally, in a statement on Wednesday said no deaths were reported during the ban but close to 22 people died by suicide in 10 months ever since the high court lifted the ban.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu’s health helpline 104 and SNEHA’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)