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PIL Against Online Rummy Hits Courts

Online rummy and poker apps have had some run-ins with the law, and courts have routinely upheld that both are games of skill and not luck, so they cannot be termed ‘gambling.’ However, a new PIL in the Bombay High Court has shot the lid off this discussion once again, with the Honorable Justices directing respondents to file an affidavit as to why rummy should be considered a game of skill.

The PIL has named the State (Maharashtra), Google, and popular rummy apps Junglee Rummy and Rummy Circle as respondents. It says that rummy is a game of chance and amounts to gambling. It further states that apps like Junglee Rummy and Rummy Circle are online gambling, which is banned under the Public Gambling Act of 1867, as well as the Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act of 1887 and the Bombay Wager Act.

Interestingly, the PIL has brought both the State of Maharashtra and Google under its purview, praying that Google shouldn’t provide servers for Junglee Rummy and that the State should outright ban the online game. At the time of writing this, it is unclear whether the PIL wants Google to take the apps off Google Play and whether Google offers any kind of server service to these apps.

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Also Read: HC reserves order on PIL against online rummy in Gujarat

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The ambitious PIL further sought that celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar should not promote these apps, saying that their fans are getting addicted to the game and committing suicide, according to Livelaw. It also sought to bring in the celebrities involved in the PIL, but the Division Bench of Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice M. M Sathaye shot down that demand. The PIL has been filed by Mr Ganesh Ranu Nanaware against the State of Maharashtra and Others.

Online Real Money Gaming Apps have faced PILs earlier

Real-money gaming apps have had several skirmishes with the law in India, and even the fantasy-gaming app Dream11 has not been spared. In 2020, a PIL alleged that Dream11 was a betting app. That PIL was dismissed, with the respondents stating that the results of a fantasy game depend on the skill of the participant and not sheer chance. The court pointedly held that the format of online fantasy games makes them games of mere skill.

Again, in July of that year, a PIL wanted online gambling banned and the celebrities who endorsed it arrested and dragged the Department of Telecommunication into the issue. However, DoT urged the courts to dismiss the PIL, saying that it cannot directly block website URLs. It stated it could only direct the Internet Service Providers to, and only after the instructions from the Court or the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

Online and real-money gaming apps have been tried several times in Indian courts and have survived to see another day. It remains to be seen how they do so this time around.

Gutshotmagazine.com gives you the latest updates pertaining to everything about poker and the real money and online gaming industry. For more updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, 

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