Poker is a cards game with a steadily growing fan base, not just in specific country, but in the whole world. It, understandably enough, gave a rise to the creation of ways where people can play poker online to their heart’s content. And lately, India has been seeing the rise in the local people using the online means, not just to get the thrill of the game online, but also because online poker provides an easy way to earn money. The statistics are staggering – more than 50 million players have willingly made accounts online for ‘real money’ poker games.
And why would they not? More than half the ads decorating the websites an average individual will access are about poker and related poker websites. It is not unbelievable, therefore, that there is a plethora of poker sites, with some of the top sites being Adda 52, dadu online, Spartan Poker, 9sstacks, Pokerbaazi, PokerStars, etc..Since Poker was introduced to the Indian society quite recently, the craze and the increasing number can be justified. And yet many are asking around a question – Is online poker is legal?
Any kind of ‘real money’ games carry around their own wariness in the people’s hearts. There is no concrete rule or laws put forth by the Supreme Court, and therefore, while there is the doubt, people are abundantly using the sites to their benefit.
Jay Sayta, the founder of GLaws.in, is quite adept in gaming laws. On this question of vague legal ambiguity, he says, “Online poker platforms are operating on the premise that they’re on the right side of law.They are deriving this from judgments that give legal validity to rummy as a game of skill. But they know their claims could be contested in courts. The government can also stop them if it wants… Many of these platforms are using this regulatory twilight zone to run their business – even if it is for a short period of time.”
The Telangana UT has declared a ban on rummy games, whereas Assam and Odisha are quick to ban all kind of card games which involve money, primarily Poker. The owners of such Poker sites, therefore, are quick to defend the safety and legal issue of Poker. Although there are reservations for different people in the society
The defense stems from how well the sites also earn with the growing traffic on the platform. They earn because they charge 3-5% commission on the winning pot. The above-mentioned Poker sites are one of the trustworthy sites, well-maintained and well-managed so as to keep their integrity intact. Nevertheless, it is clearly obvious that worldwide the game is picking up on this game as quickly as they can. Online Poker has been carrying an actual potential to become one of the most trending things of this year and now that we are quarantined in our homes, it does feel like it is already quickly and steadily making its way towards becoming the next huge thing to have ever happened to the society, especially the millennials today.
