Gaming Report: Andhra Pradesh Mulling Rummy Ban, PokerStars Goes Offline in Switzerland & More

India`s real money gaming sector has often come in the crosshairs of the government. Perhaps the most significant blow to the industry in recent times was when the Telangana government banned all online real money games in the state in June 2017. The ban was enacted by an ordinance issued by the government, and when rummy operators dragged the matter to court, the government passed the Telangana Gaming (Amendment) Bill to make the ban legally irrevocable.

The buck did not stop at Telangana as the Kerala High Court while hearing a case between the state police versus secretary of a Perinthalamana-located club, deemed that rummy is a game of skill but playing rummy for money amounts to gambling and is thus illegal under the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960. The order has subsequently been challenged, and the appeal is listed to be heard by a division bench on July 19.

After Telangana and Kerala, the latest state mulling a ban on online gaming especially rummy is Andhra Pradesh with the state`s YSR Congress-led government considering introducing a legal framework for the ban in the next legislative assembly session.

Even as the fate of rummy operators hangs in the balance, online poker giant PokerStars was forced to go offline in Switzerland in compliance with the country’s new Money Gaming Act that came into force on July 1. The company is eyeing to re-enter the Swiss market in partnership with Casino Davos.

Meanwhile, Portugal’s gaming regulator has given 888poker’s Portugal operations the go-ahead to share liquidity with Spain. In the U.K, betting operator GVC Holdings is reportedly contemplating shutting down 900 betting shops that it runs under the Ladbrokes and Coral sub-brands.

Moving over to the U.S., a petition backed by the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska seeking permission for commercial casinos has found its way to the lawmakers. If approved, the issue may come up as a ballot measure in 2020, allowing state residents to vote on the same.

Andhra Pradesh Mulling Banning Rummy in the State

Online rummy has been in the eye of a storm in recent years, and despite a strong legal crusade by various supporters of online gaming, the sector has been clamped with the ‘illegal’ tag in several Indian states. The latest state considering to ban real money rummy is Andhra Pradesh.

Image Courtesy: The News Minute

According to local media reports, the newly-elected, YSR Congress-led state government of Andhra Pradesh is giving serious consideration to banning online rummy and gaming and is expected to propose a legal framework for this in the next legislative assembly session.

The issue of imposing a ban on online rummy was brought up by State Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao (aka Avanthi Srinivas) at a recent conference of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy with District Collectors and Superintendents of Police (SP). Srinivas reportedly demanded a ban on real-money online rummy and other games, resulting in DGP Gautam Sawang having to explain that a lack of proper laws prevented law enforcement from blocking online rummy websites.

Reacting to the demands, CM Reddy has announced that the government will undertake new legislation to ban online rummy and bring it up in the legislative assembly. The CM also directed all district police heads to clamp down on card rooms and rummy clubs.

Telangana – Taking The First Step

Till 2017, online rummy enjoyed a growing base down South, with several companies offering rummy for stakes in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. Suddenly in June 2017, buckling under political pressure, the Telangana state government came out with two ordinances announcing a ban on online real-money games including rummy. To bolster the ban, it even brought in the Telangana Gaming (Amendment) Bill.

The ordinances and the bill were challenged in court by three rummy operators – Head Infotech (India) Pvt. Ltd & ANO (Ace2Three), Junglee Games India Pvt. Ltd (Junglee Rummy) and Play Games 24×7 (RummyCircle) Mumbai, but the bill was passed by the state legislative assembly and eventually approved by President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in October 2018.

Kerala Joins The Ban

The next big jolt for rummy operators came in January 2019 when the Kerala High Court while hearing a case between the state police versus secretary of a Perinthalamana-located club deemed that rummy is a game of skill but playing rummy for money amounts to gambling and is thus illegal under the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960.

The three major online rummy companies mentioned above once again filed review petitions in the Kerala High Court. The case is based on the grounds that the Kerala High Court while hearing the case, overlooked a 1976 notification that listed six games including rummy as exempted from the Kerala Gaming Act, albeit they are prohibited from facilitating any side betting on the mentioned games. In its January order, the Kerala HC had stated that no such notification existed.

On July 5, a division bench of Justice AM Shaffique and Justice N.Anil Kumar reviewed the petition and adjourned it for two weeks, listing it for hearing on July 19.

With Telangana enforcing a blanket ban on real money gaming and online rummy banned in Kerala, will Andhra Pradesh become the latest state to label playing real money rummy a criminal offense? We will have to wait and watch.

PokerStars Pulls Back From Switzerland Before Eyeing Re-entry in Partnership With Casino Davos

Switzerland had on January 1, 2019, adopted a new online gambling framework under the Money Gaming Act that permitted only locally licensed casinos to offer online games. The bill was passed by a majority vote in the country’s Federal Gaming Board, Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission (ESBK), last June.

Image Courtesy: Soloazar

With the Money Gaming Act coming into force on July 1, the parent company of online poker site PokerStars, The Stars Group (TSG), began looking for a local partner in full earnest. Just a few days back, TSG announced that it was partnering with one of the country’s four casinos, Casino Davos. However, since the required authorization was not in place before the new law came into effect on Monday, the same day, PokerStars announced that it was halting all poker operations in the country.

PokerStars’ withdrawal from Switzerland comes hot on the heels of another gambling operator, William Hill, pulling out from the country. The sports betting giant sent a short notice to its Swiss players before going offline in the country.

A company spokesperson from PokerStars reportedly said, “We are currently working with our Swiss gaming partner who is responsible for arranging the necessary approvals with the authorities in order to provide licensed poker for Swiss residents.

As soon as our local partner obtains the necessary approvals, players will need to upgrade to new software, which will offer the opportunity to play with the same players in the same games that were enjoyed on the old software.”

PokerStars has further re-iterated that once the Swiss gaming officials okay its license, Swiss players would be allowed to play on PokerStars.eu or PokerStars dot com.

888poker Can Offer Cross-Border Online Poker Between Portugal & Spain

One of the world’s leading online poker companies, 888poker, had entered Portugal`s online poker market six months back. On June 27, Portugal’s regulatory body, Serviço Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos do Turismo de Portugal (SRIJ), authorized the company to share poker liquidity with Spain. In other words, 888oker’s licensed operations in Portugal will now be able to offer cross-border online poker to users in Spain.

Image Courtesy: 888poker

888poker is the second online poker operator to offer shared liquidity in Portugal, after PokerStars that combined its player pools in France and Spain in January 2018, and later added Portugal to this shared liquidity pool.

888poker had initiated its shared liquidity project immediately after stepping foot in Portugal in January this year. The permission for the cross border liquidity sharing has finally come through after prolonged negotiations between the gaming regulators of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France. Unfortunately, Italy turned down the operator’s request for shared liquidity.

The permission has been granted for Hold ‘em and Omaha variants in both cash games and tournaments. This allows 888 to merge the player pools for the two countries into a new European Shared Liquidity market.

GVC Holdings Contemplating the Closure of 900 Betting Shops Across U.K

More severe restrictive gambling regulations in the U.K. is hurting bookmakers. After William Hill announced last week that they would be shutting down 700 betting shops, GVC Holdings has come out with a similar announcement stating that the company will be closing 900 betting shops across the U.K.

Image Courtesy: Gambling Insider

The company’s latest statement reads: “We now expect up to 900 shops to be at risk of closure, affecting up to 5,000 roles, over the next two years as a result of the reduction in maximum stakes of FOBTs (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals) to £2 that came into force on 1st April, and there are a number of shops that have been identified for closure as part of this process.

This is not a decision we are taking lightly, and we will be working hard to minimize the number of redundancies through redeployment within the business while offering redundancy terms enhanced beyond the statutory requirement.”

GVC Holdings operates close to 3,400 Ladbrokes and Coral shops in the country, and this is the second time in recent months that the company has publicly declared its intention to close betting shops. Earlier in April, the firm had announced that it would be closing 1,000 betting shops, putting 5,000 jobs at risk.

The company had earlier predicted a loss of £145 Million, but with the closure of 900 betting shops, it hopes to cut loss of revenue bringing the damages down to an estimated £120 Million.

Petition Filed in Nebraska For Commercial Casino Gambling

A new initiative to get commercial casinos and gaming in the U.S. state of Nebraska is now in the works. A petition to this effect has been filed, and if cleared, it would put the issue on the ballot in 2020, giving the state’s residents a chance to decide on the same.

Image Courtesy: Videoblocks

The Winnebago tribe is financially supporting the petition with the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association joining in the efforts.

A similar petition was turned out by the Nebraskan government in 2016. A total of 120,000 signatures were garnered then, but officials rejected 42,000 of them. The fact is, Nebraska is surrounded by six states, five of which, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Missouri legally permit commercial gaming.

Sizeable traffic from the state heads out to casinos located along the borders to wager on casino gambling. “Hundreds of millions of dollars go across the border every year. For a Nebraskan to do gaming, you have to go half a mile. It’s the height of paternalism to try to restrict it,” Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc. is reported to have said.

Though tribal casinos are legal in Nebraska, these are permitted to offer only bingo and card games. Bringing in commercial casinos would allow wagering on table games like blackjack, roulette, craps, and other traditional casino games as well as slot machines.