The Kerala government issued a notification on Saturday declaring the online rummy game illegal. According to reports, the notification was issued by amending the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960, to include the existing online rummy games played for money. In February 2021, the Kerala High Court had directed the state government to decide on the inclusion of online gambling and online betting games within the purview of the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960.
Adding online gambling and betting to the Act would ensure that these games are banned within a period of two weeks. The government also informed the bench comprising Justice Shaji P Chaly and Justice S Manikumar that the State Police Chief Loknath Behera had submitted a proposal to bring online rummy and online betting under the Kerala Gaming Act.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) submitted by a film director, Pauly Vadakkan, who demanded action against web portals advertising online rummy and online betting games portals.
The court had also issued notices to Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, actors Tamannah Bhatia and Aju Varghese who were brand ambassadors of certain online rummy websites. The petitioner had also included two online rummy portals — Play Games 24x7 Private Ltd. and Mobile Premier Leagues as respondents.
The PIL said that these portals are endorsed by celebrities to attract audiences with false promises. It also added that the primary targets for these portals are low and middle income groups, who might be enticed to make money faster, and end up losing a chunk of their savings. The PIL added that such incidents have been reported in the past in the state.
In early January 2021, a 28-year-old Kerala man killed himself after losing several lakh rupees to online rummy. The deceased was identified as VH Vineeth, who had incurred a loss of Rs 21 lakh due to online rummy. A contract employee of the Indian Science and Research Organisation (ISRO), he began playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown in March last year. He had reportedly taken loans from many private banks to play the game.
So far, the High Courts of Madras and Gujarat have passed directives against online gambling, and the states of AP, Odisha and Assam have brought out laws against it. The petitioner in the PIL also pointed out that the Kerala Gaming Act 1960 was not adequate to regulate online gambling as it did not cover activities done virtually via electronic devices.
In November 2020, the Tamil Nadu government introduced an ordinance banning online betting after directions from the Madras High Court.