Latest news with #TNOGA
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Chepauk Super Gillies' owner moves Madras High Court against TNOGA notice on online gaming ‘endorsement'
A media company that owns Chepauk Super Gillies, a leading participant in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), has approached the Madras High Court against a notice issued by the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA), warning it of penal action over an alleged indirect endorsement of an online gambling website. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh on Friday (June 28, 2025) took note of the submission of senior counsel P.R. Raman, representing Metronation Chennai Television Private Limited, that the TNOGA's notice insisting that Chepauk Super Gillies remove the endorsement had been issued on June 26, 2025, when the TNPL 2025, which began on June 5 and is expected to end on July 6, was at an advanced stage. The judge directed TNOGA counsel B. Arvind Srevatsa to take notice on behalf of the authority and instruct it to keep all further action in abeyance till July 16. In an affidavit filed in support of its writ petition, Metronation, which also owns Thanthi TV, said the TNOGA had issued issued a show-cause notice on May 16, taking exception to an endorsement on the Chepauk Super Gillies' jersey. In the notice, the TNOGA stated that the signage MELBAT found on the jersey amounts to indirectly promoting the betting/gambling website MELBET, and that this was in violation of Section 8 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022. The authority had asked Metronation to respond as to why it should not be proceeded against for such a violation. Metronation denies charge Metronation responded to the notice on June 21, stoutly denying the charge of having promoted online gambling through its jersey branding. It told the authority that the logo displayed on the jersey was that of 'MELBAT LIVE,' a website engaged in sports news. The company asserted that the logo did not contain any language, imagery, or context that could be construed as promoting betting or gambling. After considering the reply, the TNOGA sent a second notice to the company on June 26, observing that the explanation was unsustainable since Section 8 of the Act prohibits not only direct but also indirect advertisement of online gambling. Therefore, the authority gave a final opportunity to Metronation to remove the endorsement within 48 hours or face action under Section 16 of the Act. Since Section 16 provides for the imposition of imprisonment for a term extending up to one year or fine, which could extend up to ₹5 lakh or both, for contravention of Section 8 of the Act, the media company had rushed to the court with a plea to quash the June 26 notice. It contended that the TNOGA had issued the notice without considering the Advertising Standards Council of India guidelines.
New Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Madras High Court gives thumbs-up to for TNPL tournament to continue
CHENNAI: Allowing the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) tournament to go ahead, the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) not to take further action until July 16, 2025 on the orders issued to the teams to remove certain sponsor's logos from the team jerseys. Hearing the petitions filed by the team franchises, including the Metro Nation Television Private Limited which owns the Chepauk Super Gillies, Justice N Anand Venkatesh granted the relief stating the tournament is at an advanced stage; and so, the matches can go on. He posted the matter to July 16 and directed the TNOGA to keep in abeyance further action pursuant to the impugned order till then. Senior counsel PR Raman appeared for the petitioner and special government pleader Veda Bagath Singh represented the state and the home secretary and advocate Arvind Srevatsa appeared for the TNOGA. The Metro Nation has challenged the impugned order issued on June 26 by TNOGA seeking to remove the logo of MELBAT LIVE from the team jersey, as it amounts to promoting online gambling and violation of the Tamil Nadu Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act.
New Indian Express
14-06-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Gaming authority questions TNPL over surrogate ads of betting apps
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) has sought explanation from the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) regarding advertisement of offshore betting apps at its tournament being held in Coimbatore. The TNPL is an eight-team, franchise-based cricket competition organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) where international and popular IPL cricketers from Tamil Nadu like R Ashwin, Sai Kishore, Shahrukh Khan, and T Natarajan are participating. It is telecast on TV and live-streaming apps. A senior TNOGA official said that they had a meeting with the TNPL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Prasanna Shankar at their office in MRC Nagar in Chennai on Wednesday (June 11). This was a few days after TNOGA sought an explanation after receiving multiple grievance emails from residents of Tamil Nadu, pointing out that TNPL teams have enlisted multiple betting apps like dafabet, 1xBet, MELBET, Cricadda, Pin-up Cricket and JSK1 as main sponsors. These apps are promoted through surrogate advertising like dafanews, MELBAT, Cricadda news, and JSK1 news, etc. TNIE had recently reported on the wide prevalence of surrogate advertising in TNPL. According to the official, the surrogate advertising of offshore betting apps by TNPL has been found to be 'prima facie objectionable'. The TNOGA official stated that even surrogate advertisement of online betting apps is not allowed as per Section 8 of the TN Prohibition of Online Gaming and Regulation of Online Games Act, which bans the direct or indirect promotion of online gambling. Section 16(2) allows for a punishment of one year prison term or Rs 5 lakh fine for those violating Section 8.
The Hindu
03-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Madras High Court upholds night ban on online real money games in Tamil Nadu
The Madras High Court, on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) upheld the validity of a ban imposed by Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) on playing Real Money Games (RMG) between 12 midnight and 5 a.m. It also refused to interfere with requirements such as mandatory Aadhaar verification for playing the RMG. A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by online gaming companies and others to declare as unconstitutional Section 5(2) read with 14(1)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act of 2022. The petitioners had challenged the two legal provisions since they empower the TNOGA to impose restrictions such as time, monetary and age limits for playing RMG. The litigants had also urged the court to declare as null and void certain provisions of the TNOGA (RMG) Regulations, 2025. Denying any kind of relief to them, the Division Bench held the State legislature was fully competent to enact a law governing online games by invoking Entry 6 (public health and sanitation) and Entry 26 (trade and commerce within the State) of List II (State list) in the seventh schedule to the Constitution. 'It is a well known fact that so far as online real money games such as rummy and poker, it has (sic) created public heath risks in the State of Tamilnadu. This is elaborated in the expert committee reports whereby these games have posed serious mental and physical health risks to the citizens in the State,' the judges wrote. They agreed with Advocate General (AG) P.S. Raman and TNOGA counsel B. Arvind Srevatsa that the question of repugnancy would not arise at all in the present case since the State had not invoked any of the entries in List III (concurrent list of subjects on which both the Parliament as well as the State legislatures could enact laws). The court also recorded AG's submission that the night ban on RMG had been imposed based on research findings that self-control would be much lower and the dopamine levels, linked to reward-seeking behaviour, would be much higher during night hours thereby making real money gaming more addictive. On his part, Additional Public Prosecutor E. Raj Thilak, representing the Director General of Police/Head of Police Force, told the Division Bench that as many as 47 death by suicides, due to addiction to online games, had been reported in Tamil Nadu between 2019 and 2024 and it was reason enough for the State to regulate RMG. 'This court concurs with the reasons adduced by the State Government for regulating online RMGs. The adverse effects are much larger to the people than the need for securing the individual right to free trade. Regulation becomes a priority to ensure the safety and protection of the general public,' the judges observed. Disadvantages of playing games of skill online Disagreeing with the argument of online gaming companies that there was hardly any difference between playing games of skill, such as rummy and poker, in person or through online mode, the court said, there were definitely certain risks involved when playing the games of skill through online mode. Authoring the verdict, Justice Subramaniam said, when playing the games in physical mode, the players get to read each others' mind even by the slightest hand movement, body language and facial expressions. However, they get to lose this advantage while playing the games of skill through online mode. In online mode, 'the players may not even know against whom the game is played... So it is imperative that the government take adequate steps to streamline and regulate these unexplored waters to ensure fair play and secure the physical and financial safety of the players indulging in these online RMGs,' the Bench said. The court also held it did not find any reason to dilute the Aadhaar requirement since it provides for two-step authentication to confirm that the RMG players were 18 years and above. Further, the scope for manipulation/deceit was comparatively lesser in the Aadhaar verification process than others, it said. Our country is distinct from the rest of the world The Division Bench also rejected the contention of online gaming companies that the State could not adopt a paternlistic attitude and restrict their right to trade and commerce just because of some random suicides involving individuals who could not have control over their actions. 'Our country is built on a social and cultural fabric which is distinct from the rest of the world. A random comparison with the rights or laws prevalent in other countries cannot be blindly applied here... Protecting rights of the people is first and foremost as derived from our Constitution. Hence, laws and policies must primarily be focused towards this ideal,' the judges concluded. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
New Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu cracks down on opinion trading apps
CHENNAI: About four weeks after the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) sent show cause notices to 15 firms running opinion trading apps, a few of them have stopped offering their services in Tamil Nadu, while others are expected to soon follow suit, official sources said. Opinion trading application, better known as prediction markets, is a relatively new concept to India in which users are allowed to place bets on the outcomes of future events, not restricted to sport alone. According to a senior official, these opinion trading applications, although operate on similar lines as any other betting applications, they use the terminology of 'shares' for the payout instead of money. For instance, from a sporting perspective, users can bet on whether a particular IPL team would win or not and buy 100 shares worth Rs 5 each. Similarly, users could also bet on political developments like whether a politician will get a particular post or win an election. If their prediction comes true, the value of the 'shares' they purchased goes up, which can in turn be monetised. 'Though it is marketed as a game of skill, it is a game of chance and an outright form of gambling according to me,' a senior Tamil Nadu government official, who requested anonymity, said. TNIE could verify that one of the 15 popular applications which received a show cause notice, Probo, has enabled geofencing (location restriction) for users in Tamil Nadu. The official said that the firms had proactively taken this step after the TNOGA notices, as they may not have wanted to risk their entire website/app offering other games getting banned in Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, some of the opinion trading platforms which have received notices from TNOGA include Probo, MPL and SportsBaazi. They were all flagged for allowing opinion trading. Probo and SportsBaazi recently shut operations in Haryana after the state introduced the Prevention of Public Gambling Act, 2025. Chhattisgarh too banned opinion trading apps recently. This development also comes a month after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had issued a warning against opinion trading platforms. 'In some cases, opinion trading platforms are designed in a manner so as to resemble an investment platform as they use terminologies such as profits, stop loss, trading, etc., which are terms closely associated with trades in securities. In view of the above, investors are advised to note that in general, opinion trading does not fall within regulatory purview of SEBI, as what is traded is not security,' the SEBI warning said.
