The issue at hand was obvious to everyone. Since last November, winds of a potential, all-unavoidable restriction on all types of online gaming have been blowing in Karnataka. Which today has come true! Fourteen days after the Karnataka legislative assembly passed the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s consent on Monday. After a day, the Karnataka government notified the law by publishing it in the official gazette. With quick impact, working or playing any type of online game, including online poker, rummy, and fantasy games in Karnataka, is unlawful and a criminal offense. Just betting lotteries and horse racing have been left out from the domain of the boycott.

Industry experts accept that a particular prohibition on online gaming is probably not going to sustain in Karnataka. A legal challenge is currently fast approaching likened to the one in Tamil Nadu, where the online gaming boycott was presented via another law and in this way struck down by the Madras High Court.

Meanwhile, as an immediate effect of the move, most Indian poker, rummy, and fantasy gaming operators have confined players from Karnataka on their site.

Adda52 notified us – “We might want to update you that the states of Nagaland, Sikkim, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, and Telangana might deny a player from using the services presented on our website.”

Mobile Premier League (MPL) was one more operator that has hindered users from Karnataka. MPL’s gaming application showed messages to Karnataka residents saying – “Sorry! The law in your state doesn’t allow you to play Fantasy Sports.”

CEO of All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Roland Landers, says, “As the apex industry body, we have notified our member organizations to obstruct Karnataka by the law. Notwithstanding, we might want to repeat our remains since real online skill gaming organizations that have the right to trade have been affected. The irony is that unlawful seaward betting administrators will prosper.”

Commenting on the boycott, legal gaming falcon, Jay Sayta said, “The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021 was published in the official gazette on October 5, and has come into power with quick impact. It restricts staking or betting of money on games of skill. All real-money gaming websites including poker, rummy, and fantasy sports need to lock and confine users from Karnataka as of now.”

Gaming Ban Likely to Be Challenged
Karnataka is the most recent Indian state down South, after Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, to boycott online gaming. The boycott is guaranteed to be challenged in court, similar to the boycott in Tamil Nadu that was struck down by the Madras High Court on August 3.

As per Jay Sayta, there is a solid case for online skill-based gaming organizations, and the boycott will be challenged in court very soon. “This will be challenged in the Karnataka High Court in the following a couple of weeks. We’ll need to watch out for what comes next in the court. At this point, there is a quick effect. A large portion of the organizations has as of now prevented tolerating or permitting players from Karnataka on their platforms starting yesterday.”

AIGF CEO Roland Landers said, “The industry will challenge this in court and look for a legal plan of action. We should recall the new back-to-back judgment by the Honorable Kerala High Court and Madras High Court, reliably holding the position that games of skill are not similar to betting regardless of whether played for stakes.”

Landers brought up that the sector has been a solid monetary supporter of the Indian economy in any event, during the unpredictable lockdown. It needs the help of the state government to drive towards responsible gaming and recognition of the ‘Self-regulatory Framework’ made by the AIGF and the skill games council members for the industry.

As gaming operators get ready to prosecute their case, users in the tech-savvy Karnataka can at this point don’t play poker, rummy, or the money-rich fantasy games during the second leg of the IPL.

Credits: Poker Guru