Indian Association lobbies for poker

Gujarat State officers stopped last week an organised poker tournament at the YMCA club.

India.- Indian Poker Association introduced to the Gujarat State High Court a formal petition to deem poker as a game of skill, as gambling is illegal in the country. The encounter began last week, when Gujarat officers restrained a poker game played at the YMCA club in Ahmedabad city. The petition was presented by the Association secretary KN Suresh, who has claimed that the incident in the club was “illegal.”

In the report, the Indian Poker Association explained that other card games, such as rummy, bridge and nap are not deemed as gambling. The target is to label poker in the same category in order to allow legal tournaments across the State. “Since poker is not gambling, it is not under the ambit of the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act, 1987. The expression ‘Poker’ does not form part of ‘gaming or gambling’,” expressed the statement.

IPA entered into lease with YMCA International Club and started its operations earlier this month. After the disruption, the petitioners’ advocate Maulin Pandya revealed that the case will seemingly be taken by Justice Sonia Gokani. And he concluded, “The officers have been dilly-dallying and evading the petitioner on one pretext or the other and refusing to endorse the application and has instead orally intimated the petitioner to cease his activities failing which he will be visited with dire consequences.”