8 highlights
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It has been a long time since the real money gaming companies in India breathed easy. At any given point in time, the entire sector is either mired in controversies over people betting (and losing) big money in games like online rummy or consequently, caught in regulatory crosshairs.
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Last year, in November 2020, the Tamil Nadu government outlawed any online game played for stakes, specifically rummy and poker.
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The act was immediately challenged in Madras High Court, but the companies have spent the past year in fear—over the loss of revenue, the uncertainty of the future of the business, investors backing out and other states such as Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh following suit.
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In a judgement that came as a huge sigh of relief for all the gaming companies, the Madras High Court struck down the entire act.
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Even though the common consensus is that the question of real money gaming and bans, and the whole skill vs chance debate, will only be settled in the Supreme Court, this is still a big victory for the sector.
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For years now, online rummy platforms have been dependent on old court judgements to uphold their game as one of skill and not of chance. If they are proven to be a game of chance, it tantamounts to betting or gambling, and not gaming.
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These arguments do not cut much ice with naysayers like Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of health tech startup GOQii. Gondal has been railing against the real money gaming segment, calling it a front for gambling and betting for a while now. His grouse with real money gaming hinges on the fact that it is referred to as “gaming”. “It’s a bit like calling alcohol fermented flavoured water.
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He buttresses his claims by arguing that when Viswanathan Anand can be defeated in online chess by AI bots, the same could happen on rummy and poker, especially when there is no proper monitoring. This is a charge vehemently denied by the platforms in the space, who say that they have safeguards in place.