CHENNAI: The E-Gaming Federation (EGF) on Saturday expressed surprise and disappointment over the ordinance promulgated by the Tamil Nadu government banning online rummy.
The Ordinance, promulgated by the government in the wake of spate of suicides and loss of money, has got the Governor’s assent.
In a statement, Sameer Barde, CEO of the E-Gaming Federation said: “We are surprised and disappointed at the Ordinance issued by the TN Government, which categorises rummy as a game of chance.”
“Rummy being a game of skill has been settled by the Supreme Court and has been held to be a protected trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution,” he said.
Tamil Nadu including rummy as a game of chance is directly in violation of the Supreme Court judgments and also the recent judgment of the Madras High Court which overturned the law banning online games including rummy.
In its detailed judgement, the High Court reaffirmed the preponderance test for distinguishing between games of skill and games of chance especially in the context of rummy, reinforcing that both rummy and poker are games of skill.
“We are examining the Ordinance and shall be taking appropriate action in due course of time”, he said.
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