It has come to our notice that certain sections of the media carried stories recently about the response filed by the State of TN in the Madras High Court regarding banning Games of Skill like Rummy . TORF would like to clarify that our understanding is that TN’s Ordinance 11 of 2020 amending the TN Gaming Act and their entire stand in court is based on the Mahalakshmi high court judgment from 2012 which stated that playing rummy for stakes is gambling. It is pertinent to note that this judgment by the TN High Court was set aside by the Supreme Court in 2015. Playing rummy for stakes is and was always constitutionally protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution.
We would like to reiterate that banning games of skill will only push the legitimate operators out of the state leaving players unprotected at the hands of fly by night operators. We firmly believe that the State of TN should regulate the industry, and this will ensure maximum safety for the players whilst adding meaningful revenues to the states coffers.