Kerala High Court has finally lifts the ban on Rummy Game.
The decision has come in a time when state like Karnataka has proposed a bill to ban online games that involves dealing with money or financial risks to players.
Mumbai, NFAPost: The Kerala High court passed a judgment quashing the online rummy ban notification, issued by the Kerala government under Section 14A of the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960. According to the judgement, Kerala High Court denoted that the notification was arbitrary and violative of the right to trade, and commerce guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and the right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
Welcoming the Kerala High Court’s judgment, Games24x7 Vice President Corporate Affairs Dinker Vashisht said the judgment by Honorable Kerala High Court is yet another addition to the jurisprudence that has consistently held that games of skill are not akin to gambling.
“This judgement will ensure protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution. The decision comes shortly after the Madras High Court judgement, is a shot in the arm for the sunrise sector of gaming in India,” said Dinker Vashisht.
Welcoming the court’s judgment, All India Gaming Federation Chief Executive Officer Roland Landers states the judgement passed by the Kerala High Court is reassuring for this sunrise sector in India, particularly coming in quick succession of the recent historic positive judgement for online skill gaming by the Madras HC.
“We believe that this development will give a major fillip to the industry by encouraging investments leading to technological advancements as well as generation of revenue and employment,” said Roland Landers.
Through the adoption of principles and the disciplinary process, the AIGF has built a self-regulatory community and facilitative ecosystem for the offer of online games of skill in a transparent and fair manner, with due regard for consumer and stakeholder interests.
“The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) is a not for profit association and has most of the stakeholders of the online gaming industry as its members. The AIGF has a robust self-regulation charter, overseen by the Skill Games Council, which is being followed by all its members thereby in compliance with the extant laws of the land,” said Roland Landers.
Commenting on the Kerala government decision to lift ban on rummy game, TMT Law Practice Managing Partner Abhishek Malhotra said this order, once again, confirms the time tested distinction between games of skill and games of chance.
“The judgement further strengthens the jurisprudence on the issue that the relevant entry of betting and gambling in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution May not confer power upon the State Legislature to enact a law on betting vis-a-vis games of skill,” said Abhishek Malhotra.
Iterating the need for promoting skill-based gaming, Skill Games Council Member Justice Vikramajit Sen (former Judge of the Supreme Court & former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court) added in the last few years, the interest in the online skill gaming has been growing exponentially in the country.
“The Supreme Court and multiple high courts have reiterated numerous times that online games of skill are protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. We see the Kerala High Court’s judgement as a positive move for the online gaming sector,” said Justice Vikramajit Sen.
Rummy Chapter President of Policy & Planning Sutanu Behuria said the Indian online gaming industry is at the cusp of transformation, looking at a growth trajectory over $3.9 billion in 2025 according to KPMG.
“With a singular objective of ensuring growth for the industry, while monitoring operational transparency and adherence to the strictest possible norms and protocols AIGF recently announced the induction of former senior bureaucrat,” said Sutanu Behuria.
Commenting on the striking of the online rummy ban notification in Kerala, Sutanu Behuria said Rummy Chapter lauds the Kerala High court’s judgment quashing the online rummy ban notification.
“The Indian gaming industry over the years has been working to bring due attention to this sunrise sector and the judgement further motivates the industry to move forward. The Online Gaming industry is outstripping most other sections of our economy, growing in excess of 20 per cent annually and contributing significantly to tax revenues,” said Sutanu Behuria.
Online gaming today has emerged as an important avenue due to a multitude of favourable factors such as young and tech-savvy population, affordable availability of feature-packed smartphones, better internet connectivity, increased awareness and development. Therefore, the domestic industry has the potential to scale quickly and become a meaningful contributor.
