Reiterating the need for a legislation to impose a ban on online gambling, State Law Minister S. Regupathy on Tuesday expressed hope that the Supreme Court would come out with a good judgment on the appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government against the order of the Madras High Court quashing the ban on online gambling.
“We cannot discuss the issue further as the matter is pending before the Supreme Court,” he told the Legislative Assembly while replying to former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who accused the State government of not acting quickly to ban online gambling.
Mr. Regupathy said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin fully understood the evils of online gambling, which had destroyed many poor families and stressed that the State government was taking action by invoking the existing laws. The previous AIADMK government had promulgated an ordinance banning online gambling in a hurry and the High Court struck it down as the government could not give a proper explanation about its objective, he alleged.
“When we consulted advocates, they felt that a strong appeal in the Supreme Court could produce the desired effect. We have gone to the Supreme Court to uphold the law enacted by the AIADMK government,” he said.
