Aadhaar made mandatory for online real money games because of two-step verification: A-G to Madras HC
The Hindu
Aadhaar made mandatory for online real money games because of two-step verification, A-G argues before Madras HC
The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) had made Aadhaar verification mandatory for creating an account to play online real money games (RMG), only because it involves a two-step verification process, Advocate General P.S. Raman argued before the Madras High Court on Friday (April 4, 2025).
Appearing before a Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar, the A-G, assisted by TNOGA counsel Arvind Srevatsa, said, permitting online RMG players to submit copies of passports or driving licences would involve only a one-step verification process, which was not advisable.
The A-G stated that minors could easily misuse the passport or driving licence of their parents to create an online gaming account and therefore, the TNOGA thought it fit to insist on the two-step verification process of not only submitting the Aadhaar details but also authenticating it through a One Time Password (OTP) sent to the phone number linked to that particular Aadhaar number.
He also defended TNOGA’s insistence that online RMG should not be allowed to be played between 12 midnight and 5 a.m. and said, online gaming companies could not oppose such a restriction by claiming that their commercial right was being curtailed by the State. Drawing a parallel with the Tamil Nadu Cinemas (Regulation) Act of 1955, he said, the State does not allow the screening of midnight shows and, therefore, could impose a similar restriction on online RMGs as well.
The A-G further told the court that World Health Organization (WHO) had included gaming disorder, predominantly online, in its International Classification of Diseases (11th Revision).
The WHO had stated that gaming disorder was characterised by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour and was manifested by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities, and continuation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning, he said.
Opposing a batch of writ petitions filed by some private online gaming companies against a host of restrictions imposed by TNOGA, the A-G also said that in 2023 itself, the then first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu had upheld the State government’s right to fix time, age, and monetary limit for playing online RMG.
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