Operators of rummy and poker games in India and their millions of customers are anxiously waiting for word from the country’s Supreme Court on whether it will be legal to play the games for money, a decision that could open up the subcontinent to a potentially massive online industry.
The court is expected to rule on a case that had its beginnings in Chennai in 2012 when a suit was filed against a number of gambling organizations and the High Court in Madras ruled that rummy clubs could run games for fun only to stay clear of the country’s gambling ban. The defendants challenged the decision based on a 1968 Supreme Court ruling that classified rummy as a game of skill and not a gambling game.
In 1996, the Supreme Court effectively affirmed that ruling, saying, “It has been authoritatively held that a competition which substantially depends on skill is not gambling.”
The case could also have a definitive impact on how poker is perceived in India. If the Supreme Court rejects the Madras ruling on the basis that poker is also considered to be a skill-based game, the country’s gambling laws will no longer apply to it.
There is a precedent, too. In 2013, a raid conducted by the Pulikeshinagar Police on a poker club, a member of the Indian Poker Association, resulted in charges against the members of the club, the staff and the owners. However, judges ruled in the defendants’ favor on the basis that poker is a skill-based game. “If played as a game of skill, license is not contemplated,” they said.
Online operators have been trying to crack the vast Indian market for years, and several prominent names in the sector, 888 Poker and PokerStars among them, have been dealing to Indian players without a license in the country, although they claim the laws are vague, and they believe they are operating legally.
