After TN, Karnataka govt to draft Bill to monitor online gaming in state says HM Bommai

The Karnataka government will soon bring a law to monitor online games revealed Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday informing that the bill was in the draft stage. HM Bommai told reporters that the formulation of the bill was underway and hinted at the bill being presented in the state Assembly in the near future. Karnataka's move to monitor online games after neighbouring state Tamil Nadu brought in a legislation to ban online gambling in the state after a spur of suicides related to it were reported in 2020. 

READ | Tamil Nadu To Ban Online Gambling? Dy CM OPS Tables Bill After Spur Of Suicides In 2020

Karnataka HM Bommai noted that the state government would be studying the laws formulated & in place by other states before introducing the legislation. He pointed out that states had varied the provisions under which the online games had been classified and pointed out that licenses were given to some while others were banned. Bommai also informed that the law department would present the in the cabinet after it was scrutinised. 

READ | TN CM Palaniswami Announces Ban On Online Gambling Games; Law To Be Passed Soon

Tamil Nadu bans online gambling 

Tamil Nadu Dy CM O Pannerselvam tabled the Online Gambling Prohibition Bill in the Assembly on Thursday in an effort to accelerate the process to ban online gambling. Last year in November, Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami had announced that the state would ban online gambling websites and will soon introduce legislation to crack the whip on them after a series of suicides - reportedly due to losses faced from the online gambling games that have rocked the state. 

A Madurai-based resident filed a PIL at the Madras High court in 2020 seeking a ban on online gambling websites following which the Madurai bench of the HC issued notices to cricketers Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and other actors for endorsing the games despite knowing that people will follow them. Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, TN CM Edappadi Palaniswami had then announced that the state would ban online gambling websites and would pass legislation to arrest those who play and run such online games. Citing the move to ban these online gambling games as a result of the demands of various groups, EPS told reporters that the Madras HC had also been informed of the same by the state government. 

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Karnataka govt mulls blanket ban on hookah bars

The Karnataka government is mulling a blanket ban on hookah bars, revealed Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday as a part of the govt's initiative to reduce the drug menace in the State. Replying to a question posed by Congress legislator Sowmya Reddy, Bommai remarked that hookah bars were being constantly raided and cases were being filed in addition to the government studying other states where bans had been imposed on hookahs. The Home Minister said that the BJP-led state government was 'seriously considering' a ban on hookah bars and revealed that they will hold discussions with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) about the same before introducing the legislation. 

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