The Tamil Nadu Online Game Authority (TNOGA) in India has recently stepped up its efforts to combat illegal online games by banning three clusters and their administrator accounts that promote unregulated sports betting on the Telegram platform, reflecting the increased enforcement in India following the renewal of the genuine gold game regulatory framework. Telegram has become one of the main channels for illegal online gambling in India. It was noted that the platform ‘ s large base of users, its private group functions and the difficulty of tracking them were favoured by offshore sports investment service operators. Such groups often share input links, payment information and promotional incentives during major sporting events.
Telegram has been identified as an important source of lottery marketing by law enforcement agencies in several states of India. The latest operation in Tamil Nadu, which included the blocking of the administrator accounts of the three groups and the blocking of user access, had a total of 13,518 members, revealing the rapid expansion of such networks and the current status of the official dissemination of content through digital platforms. In February 2025, the Tamil Nadu State promulgated the Tamil Nadu Online Game Authority ‘ s Golden Game Regulations 2025, which set strict norms for the platform where genuine gold games are provided. One of the core provisions is a total ban on the participation of minors. No user under the age of 18 may engage in genuine gold games, and the platform must ensure that the user is of legal age before providing services; another key requirement is to enforce customer identification verification, which, in addition to completing identification, must be verified by means of a one-time password attached to a mobile phone number to enhance traceability and prevent misuse.
It also requires the operator to pop up a warning window one hour after the user’s continuous game and then reminds every 30 minutes that the game duration is strictly regulated to deal with the problem of excessive play. The management of consumption limits is also included in the requirements. Players must be able to set their daily, weekly and monthly deposit ceilings on their own, and each time they are deposited, the platform must indicate the cumulative amount of the user ‘ s consumption. All gold game platforms must display warning labels on the login interface, indicating that “online games are addictive”. In addition, in order to curb the behaviour of long-term games, the platform must be closed to users between 0 and 5 a.m. every day.
The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gaming and Regulation of Online Games Act, enacted in 2022, seeks to classify and enforce the ban on games such as Rami and poker as lucky games. However, the Madras High Court ruled that its key provisions were null and void on the grounds that the programme was unconstitutional with regard to the definition of a skill and luck game. The case has now been appealed to the Supreme Court of India and is in progress.
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