Karnataka High Court reaffirms the legality of online gaming: an analysis
Prameela K
Published on: 22 February 2022, 04:28 am
The recent Karnataka High Court order setting aside the state law criminalising playing or facilitating online games was in consonance with similar judgments delivered by the Madras and Kerala High Courts last year, and with the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on the matter, writes NIKHIL PARIKSHITH.
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THE Karnataka High Court has recently in a comprehensive judgement dated February 14 struck down substantive provisions of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (published on October 5 last year), whereby the Karnataka Police Act, 1963 had been amended, as being ultra vires the Constitution.
This decision of the Karnataka High Court comes in the aftermath of two comprehensive decisions of the High Courts of Madras (delivered on August 3, 2021) and Kerala (delivered on September 27, 2021), in which similar state-led interventions were struck down. The subject matter in these litigations was the legality of "online gaming", in particular "online games of skill" such as 'rummy' and 'poker'.
