Baadshah Gaming becomes first poker website to restrict players from Gujarat

Online skill-gaming website Baadshah Gaming, which is backed by the Pride Group of casinos, has stopped accepting players from Gujarat for its real-money online poker games. The move comes in response to the 4th December order of the Gujarat High Court that ruled poker is a game of chance.

Baadshah Gaming, put up the following notice on its poker games page that stated that residents of Gujarat are not allowed to play poker on its platform in light of the decision of the Gujarat High Court in Dominance Games Pvt. Ltd. & Others v. State of Gujarat & Others. The notice further requested players residing and/or accessing the website in Gujarat to not play poker on their platform.

Commenting on the decision, Baadshah Gaming CEO Madhav Gupta said, “We at Baadshah Gaming will continue to abide by the rules of the land. Since the latest order from the Gujarat High Court, we have suspended poker operations in the state. While we will miss our Gujarat players it is our responsibility to always be legally compliant. We do hope for a quick resolution of this matter and hope that those players also get an ability to showcase their skills in the future.

Gupta added that accounts of any players found playing poker from Gujarat on Baadshah Gaming would be suspended. He also said that the deposits of existing players from Gujarat would be refunded.

Baadshah Gaming is the first skill-gaming website to have taken cognisance of the order of the Gujarat High Court and restrict players from accessing real money games from Gujarat.

A single judge bench of the Gujarat High Court had on 4th December ruled that poker is not a game of skill. The court also observed that even playing a game of skill, where betting and wagering is involved would fall within the ambit of gambling.