Gambling Agreement to win or lose something of value solely or

partially by chance. Texas defines a bet as agreeing to win or lose

something of value based solely or partially on chance. This
encompasses many different forms of gambling including cards,
table games, betting on sports games, horse and dog races, slot
machines, lottery, and scratch tickets. There is law that states
that skill based games are not illegal to play in India and there are
many players in the world who already proved that Poker is game
of skill, and skill games are NOT illegal in India so technically it is
not illegal to play there. But for online gambling there Indian law
clearly prohibits gambling in an online platform. It is regulated by
Information Technology Act of 2000. The Intermediary
Guidelines (Rules) 2011, published under this Act regulates
gambling practices by intermediaries, which includes telecom
service providers, network service providers, internet service
providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online
payment sites, online-auction sites, online-market places and
cyber cafes. Section 3(2)(b) of the said Rules, prohibits any
practice which is related to or which encourages laundering and
gambling. The public gambling act of India, 1857 mandates that
any games which are in form of betting or “game of chance” is
liable to punishment. The game of Poker is globally recognised to
be a game which needs a high level of intellect and mental
prowess. In India, gaming legislations in all states with the
exemption of Assam, Odisha, Telangana and Gujarat exempt
“games of skill or “games of mere skill” from the definition of
gambling. Playing poker games in Poker Lion, implies you can
play them as a game of skill at according to law it is considered
legal.

Various Supreme Court judgments have noted that poker as

games of skill is a fundamental right under the Indian constitution
and consequently games of skill cannot be prohibited. The High
Courts of Karnataka and Calcutta have noted that police or law
enforcement authorities cannot interfere in the game of poker.
Based on this legal background, various legal experts and jurists
have opined that play poker online is completely legal in India.
No, playing online poker is not illegal in India except Telangana
and Gujarat states. Poker is now on the list of the skill-based
game as like rummy games. So as per Indian gambling act, skill-
based games are not in gambling act 1867. Indian law classifies all
games under two broad categories – those of luck or and those of
skill. The Supreme Court has maintained that rummy is a game of
skill. The Karnataka High Court passed a landmark judgment in
2013 that declared poker as a predominant game of skill, along
with rummy. Andhra Pradesh has also passed a similar ruling.

In fact, it is in the hand of each state to formulate the laws of

gambling and gaming. Many states, such as Sikkim, Goa, and
Daman allow poker to be played in casinos. Nagaland looks all set
to propose a bill that will legalize online gaming, claiming to be
the first state to actually try and pass legislation that supports
online skill games such as rummy and poker.