Professional online gamers in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have approached the Madras High Court against the state government’s ban on online gaming between 12 am and 5 am. This matter is likely to come up for hearing in the ongoing week. The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA), under the state government, recently introduced a slew of regulations to curb addiction and ensure responsible online gaming. Comprising eight points, these regulations are referred to as the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (Real Money Games), Regulations, 2025.

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The curbs brought in by the Tamil Nadu Government are aimed at “online real money games”, which are online games where a user makes a deposit in cash or kind with the expectation of winnings on that deposit. According to the regulations, minors under the age of 18 shall be prohibited from playing online real money games, Know Your Customer (KYC) verification shall be mandatory for creation of account to play online real money games, online game providers must ensure implementation of KYC verification process.

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Further, online game providers are required to display pop-up messages when a player plays continuously for longer than an hour, and such messages must appear every 30 minutes. Online gaming providers must provide facilities to fix daily, weekly, and monthly monetary limits for each player, caution messages such as “Online Gaming is addictive in nature” must be displayed on the login pages of these websites and apps. 
“Blank hours shall be implemented for the real money games from 12 midnight to 5 am (based on Indian Standard Time). No login of the games shall be allowed during these restricted hours,” reads the eighth and final point of the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority’s latest set of regulations.

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According to the petition filed by Vikram Kumar, a professional poker player, he relies exclusively on earnings from poker tournaments as his primary source of livelihood. His petition mentions that prohibiting login to online gaming portals between 12 am and 5 am is in clear violation of the fundamental right to practice any profession, trade, or business, as guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution. 
“Individuals who earn their livelihood through online skill gaming will be deprived of their means of sustenance, thereby violating their fundamental right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the petition adds.

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Further, it is mentioned that skill-based online gaming tournaments extend over long durations, and that the 12-5 am ban in Tamil Nadu would unfairly exclude players from the state from taking part in international online gaming tournaments. “It feels like Tamil Nadu gamers are being unfairly singled out. The test of the country plays freely, and international tournaments take place at night. Why should we be forced to sit out when others can compete without restrictions?,” Vikram asks.

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For many competitive gamers, 12 am–5 am are prime playing hours, as they engage with top-tier global competitors and working professionals who participate in E-sports after their job commitments, maintains the Esports Players Welfare Association (EPWA), which has also filed a legal challenge against the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority.

Arguing against then 12-5 am curbs, Vikram Kumar said that a major chunk of the prize money is up for grabs in the wee hours and missing that crucial period would adversely affect gamers. “In most international tournaments, the games begin at 7 pm Indian time and go well past midnight. When there are curbs between the peak traffic hours of 12 am and 5 am, we cannot complete the tournament.” He maintains that poker and chess are skilled sports and that many professionals are dependent on the same. “We pay 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the game entry fee and 30 per cent tax is deducted at source on our earnings from the games. Gamers are taxed among the highest in India,” Vikram said.

“Restricting night-time gaming is akin to telling an athlete they cannot train during peak competition hours-—it simply does not make sense,” says PS Rathanvel, an online chess player.