Half of 92% online gamers from TN put real money at stake

CHENNAI: A latest survey has revealed that a startling 49 pc of online gamers in Tamil Nadu play with real money. Of the total 92 pc of the state's youth engaged in online games, 64 pc are men and 35 pc women and 1 per cent are others or those who preferred not to respond; and 45 pc of the gamers are between the age of 18 and 24.

The Delhi-based NGO Prahar, which conducted the survey, studied a total of 5,200 respondents in Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai and Coimbatore.

It may be noted that the in the first week of February, the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority released the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (Real Money Games) Regulations, 2025, which, among other rules, prohibits minors from engaging in real-money gaming platforms and making Aadhaar-based KYC verification mandatory.

According to Prahar, its survey was aimed at understanding the attitudes and behaviour of youth who are online and have access to digital entertainment in multiple forms, including online gaming.

Interestingly, 58 pc of the respondents were employed and four pc unemployed.

Only 13 pc play casino and betting games, while a good 66 pc play casual or multiplayer games.

While 40 pc of respondents were in the 25-35 age group, 14 pc were above 36, and 1 pc was under 18.

Overall, 63 pc of the respondents were regular gamers on online platforms; 37 pc played daily, while 26 pc played a few times a week.

Respondents who played once a week was 14 pc, while a meagre 10 pc said they rarely played – of this 8 pc had not played in the past six months.

The main finding of the survey is that 75 pc of the respondents found it difficult to reliably distinguish between domestic legal gaming platforms and illegal foreign online gambling platforms. Out of these, 26 pc believed that gaming platforms accessible in India are legal, 8 pc respondents, who do not play at all, believed all platforms are illegal.

Asked whether the government should specify how to identify a domestic legal online gaming platform, a whopping 65 pc felt it was indeed the responsibility of the state. However, 25 pc of respondents believed they could identify illegal foreign online gambling platforms, and this leaves only 10 pc who thought the government should intervene. But 90 pc of the respondents needed the government to provide the means to distinguish domestic legal gaming platforms from illegal foreign gambling platforms.

A staggering 86 pc respondents were against the state government attempting to impose fixed limits on time and money in online games. Of these, 44 pc believed players should be allowed to voluntarily set their own time and money limits. Another 24 pc felt that the government should at best make it mandatory for operators to ensure players set their own voluntary limits on time and money before they even begin to play.

The report also revealed that online players faced a heightened risk of falling into the trap of offshore illegal foreign online gambling platform operators, which could trigger a chain reaction where personal security escalates into a national security threat. Illegal foreign operators could misuse personal data to rob players, manipulate them, or use their identity to mount strategic attacks against the nation, the report added.

Tamil Nadu has a unique opportunity with Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority to show the way and create a benchmark for other states and the government at the Centre to follow, says the NGO.