Gambling or gaming in India was originally regulated
by the Public Gambling Act, 1867 which is the central law on gambling presently,
the power to legislate lies exclusively within the State Legislature. Pursuant to this power,
most states in India have passed enactments laws.
It is to be noted that, while the Central Gambling Act and all the State Gaming Acts
provide for an exemption in the nature of Saving of Games of Skill and substantially
state that “nothing in this Act shall apply to games of mere skill wherever played”.
Rummy has been declared to be a game of skill or mere skill by the Hon’ble Supreme court of India
vide various Judgments. Games of skill or mere skill are excluded from the applicability of Indian
Gaming Laws which prohibits only betting and gambling in all Indian states to the exception of a few
(‘Betting and Gambling’ being a state subject under the Constitution of India).
The Supreme Court has explained Skill in terms of superior knowledge,
training, attention, experience, and adroitness.
The Supreme Court stated that -A game of skill, on the other hand – although
the element of chance necessarily cannot be entirely eliminated – is one in which success depends principally
upon the superior knowledge, training, attention, experience, and adroitness of the player.
Gambling or gaming has been defined by the Supreme Court in 1996 as betting and
wagering on games of chance only. The Supreme Court in this judgment specifically excludes
games of skill, irrespective of whether they are played for money or not, from the definition of gambling.
The exact quote from the 1996 judgment is as follows:
“The expression ‘gaming’ in the two Acts has to be interpreted in the
light of the law laid down by this Court in the two1957 cases, wherein
it has been authoritatively held that a competition which substantially
depends on skill is not gambling. Gaming is the act or practice of gambling
on a game of chance. It is staking on chance where chance is the controlling factor.
‘Gaming’ in the two Acts would, therefore, mean wagering or betting on games of chance.
It would not include games of skill like horse racing”
Further, the Public Gambling Act, which is the central law on gambling and most
subsequent state laws on the subject substantially states that “nothing in this Act
shall apply to games of mere skill wherever played”. This is also mentioned in the
1996 Supreme Court judgment with regards to Tamil Nadu and Madras’ laws.
“In any case…Section 11 of the Gaming Act specifically saves the games of mere skill from the penal provisions of the two Acts.”
The 1968 Supreme Court ruling that declared rummy to be a game of skill.
“Rummy, on the other hand, requires a greater amount of skill because the fall
of the cards has to be memorised and the building up of Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and
discarding cards. We cannot, therefore, say that the game of Rummy is a game of entire chance. It is mainly
and predominantly a game of skill. The chance in Rummy is of the same character as the chance in a deal at a game of bridge.”
Further, the Supreme Court in 1996 also stated
“A game of skill, on the other hand – although the element of chance necessarily cannot be entirely
eliminated –is one in which success depends principally upon the superior knowledge, training, attention, experience, and adroitness
of the player. Golf, chess, 8 Ball Pool, and even Rummy are considered to be games of skill. The Courts have reasoned that there are
few games, if any, which consist purely of chance or skill, and as such a game of chance is one in which the element of chance
predominates over the element of skill, and a game of skill is one in which the element of skill predominates over the element
of chance. It is the dominant element –“skill” or “chance” — which determines the character of the game.”
Yes, in 1957 the Supreme Court stated that prize competitions that involve substantial skill are business activities that are protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.
The various Supreme Court rulings and the Gaming Acts of India imply the following:
Gaming or gambling means betting and wagering on games of chance.
Playing games of skill for cash does not constitute gambling.
Games of skill are exempt from the penal provisions of most gambling acts.
Rummy is a game of skill.
So yes, it is perfectly legal to play rummy for cash on playmagicrummy.com as long as you are not playing
from the states of Assam, Odisha, Telangana, Sikkim, and Nagaland. In these states, the Gaming Laws are less
clear. As we get more clarity on the laws in these states, we might reconsider offering our services to residents
of these states as well.