In this article, we will be discussing why poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance. We will also talk about how this implication can influence Indian gambling laws regarding both online and land-based poker games.
Is gambling legal in India?
Let’s start from the beginning, is gambling even legal in India? Well according to the Public Gambling Act of 1867, gambling is illegal in India. But in reality, this is a pretty difficult question to answer, and the correct answer would be: It depends. You see, Indian gambling laws are very complex and you have to consider several factors.
The factors being: your location, form of gambling, and type of gambling. In some Indian states, certain forms of gambling are legal, while in other states gambling it is completely illegal. Skill-based games and games of chance do not have the same status in Indian law and some Indian states allow players to wager on games based on skill.
What about online gambling?
Most of the laws that regulate gambling in India were written before the origin of the Internet and as such only forbid physical gambling in land-based casinos or, as they are called, “gaming houses”. This means that the vast majority of Indian states do not regulate gambling in its online format and this creates an opportunity for Indian players to play online. In these states, there are no explicit provisions or any other laws that forbid international online gambling. However, there are some states, like the state of Karnataka Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, that have banned all forms of gambling, both physical and online.
Poker in India
When it comes to state laws regarding poker in India, we can put Indian states in three categories: states where poker is illegal, states where poker is legal and states where poker is not regulated.
In states like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Karnataka, and Telangana poker is illegal. States like Nagaland and Meghalaya allow players to play online poker India.
In these states, poker is regarded as a skill game under the Nagaland Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online games as Skill Act, 2016 (Nagaland Act), and the Meghalaya Act. These regulations refer to two variants of poker: Texas Holdem Poker and Omaha Poker. As we mentioned before, when it comes to online poker, in most Indian states online poker is not regulated. This means that you can play online poker in most Indian states.
Is Poker a skill-based game?
The conclusion of the previous paragraph is as follows: if we want poker to become legal in India, we have to prove that poker is a skill game. This means that poker will be separated from other games of chance and be treated more like chess. So is poker a skill-based game? Well, there is a lot of discussion on this subject. The answer to this question lies in the fact that poker is not only about luck, but also about skills.
Players need to have good hand-reading skills, decision-making skills, and bluffing skills to be successful at the game. Many professional poker players believe that poker is a skill-based game, and that’s why they can make a living playing the game.
On the other hand, there are thousands of amateur poker players who believe that poker is a game of chance, but they’re wrong. Poker requires a lot of skill and knowledge to be successful at game. Don’t get me wrong, poker has a luck element, but only in the short term, in the long term, it is all about skill.
To make things simpler to understand, think about it like this. If an amateur poker player plays against a pro poker player, the shorter amount of time they play, the better chance the amateur player has to win.
If they play for a couple of hours, the amateur player has a decent chance to win, but if they play for a couple of weeks or even months, his chances drop significantly to the point that if they play for example a year he has almost no chance to win. In this regard, poker is more similar to intellectual games like chess than games of chance like video poker, slots, or roulette.
Unlike other casino games, the longer you study and play poker, the better you will become at the game, and that is a fact.
Benefits of legalizing poker in India
The first thing that is often overlooked is the fact that if a country bans gambling, people won’t stop gambling, they will just find other ways to wager. With this out of the way let’s now talk about the benefits of regulated poker platforms. When it comes to the benefits of legalizing poker in India, we can sort them into two categories: benefits for the government and benefits for the people.
Benefits for the government would be:
- more tax revenue,
- more jobs and stimulating the economy,
- reduced crime rates (less illegal backyard games)
Benefits for the people would be:
- safe way to gamble (lesser chance to get scammed),
- better player safety and security (player data and funds),
- creates room to battle player addiction (regulated gambling platforms must ensure player’s well-being
Is poker popular in India?
Poker is growing in popularity in India, as players are trying to find more and more ways to play their favorite card game. This is evidenced by the fact that several online poker platforms are available in India, and that there are numerous tournaments held in the country which attract players from all over.
And there is of course the fact that Indian poker players are achieving great results on the world stage. Two of the most successful professional Indian poker players are Aditya Agarwal and Prahlad Friedman.
Aditya Agarwal has won several international tournaments and has also finished in the money in many others. In June 2017, he won the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila Main Event, which had a prize pool of ₹3.5 crores. This made him the first Indian player to win an APPT tournament.
Prahlad Friedman is another highly successful Indian poker player. He has won several high-stakes tournaments, including two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets.
Conclusion
Poker is a skill game with elements of luck and should be treated as such by Indian gambling laws. Like in every sport, professional poker players have spent years and even decades studying and developing their skills and this gives them an edge over amateur players. If you think you have what it takes to become a great poker player, a good place to start your poker journey is a reliable betting platform. Good luck at the tables.
