Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session of the Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: Sansad TV
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday (March 26, 2025) said that betting and gambling are State subjects, while responding to a question from DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran in Lok Sabha on the issue of banning online gaming sites.
Asking a supplementary during Question Hour, Mr. Maran said: “…are you shying away from your moral responsibility? The State government of Tamil Nadu has banned online gaming. How long is it going to take MeitY [ Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology] to ban all the online sites? Instead of banning the online sites, your government is only increasing the GST for online gaming. Are you being morally right?”
In response, Mr. Vaishnaw said: “…the honourable Member has no right to question the moral authority of the Central government. This country functions on the federal structure defined by the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India places the moral authority, the legal authority as per the three Lists. The list under which any law can be created is the responsibility of the State government. In List 2, Entry 34, please study the federal structure. I request the honourable Member to respect the federal structure of the country and save the Constitution…,”
In reply to another query, Mr. Vaishnaw said 1,410 sites had been blocked following various complaints.
Published – March 26, 2025 11:08 pm IST