Recently, the Bombay High Court accepted the distinction between a game of 'Poker' and cards, and prima facie agreed that game of Poker was a 'game of skill'.
A division bench of Justice R M Sawant and Justice Sarang Kotwal, were informed by senior Advocate Amit Desai, that "Poker has been proven to be a Game of Skill across the globe. Moreover, in states such as Nagaland, West Bengal and Karnataka, after consideration of substantial material, it has been found that Poker is a game of skill and not chance.
Desai had put forth his arguments while seeking to quash a case filed by Goregaon police against businessman Nasir Patel for allegedly playing and hosting a game of Poker in an apartment.
The court had initially made the oral observation that Poker was a game of chance and not skill, after reading the description mentioned in the FIR. However, Desai told the court that Poker cannot be generalized in that manner and the game of poker which he was referring to is very different from the one contemplated in the FIR.
After hearing Desai's arguments, the court held that Patel was playing a game of cards, which was not a game of skill but of chance, and thus the case — registered under various sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act – could not be quashed and set aside.
Desai tried to persuade the court to take a different view, seeing how holding Poker to be a game of chance would put an entire industry in peril since a large number of tournaments have been organised and announced, leagues where teams have been sold, brand ambassadors have been appointed, training of players is going on etc.
All In A Game
- The court had initially made the oral observation that Poker was a game of chance and not skill, after reading the description mentioned in the FIR.
- However, advocate Amit Desai told the court that Poker cannot be generalised in that manner.
