Supreme Court has instructed the Andhra Pradesh High Court to reevaluate whether Online Rummy is a game primarily dependent on skill or one of chance. This directive follows a committee's formation, as ordered by the High Court, to present a comprehensive report on the nature of Online Rummy.

The legal dispute stemmed from the Andhra Pradesh government's appeal against the High Court's provisional order, which required the establishment of a committee to investigate the mechanics of Online Rummy due to a lack of pertinent information about the online variant of the game.

In a recent hearing presided over by Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan, the Supreme Court urged the High Court to consider the implications of the newly enacted Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, concerning online gaming.

Given the interim nature of the impugned order, the Supreme Court emphasized that the High Court should reevaluate the matter once the committee's report is available. The High Court's fresh examination should be uninfluenced by prior findings and should factor in the aforementioned amendment rules. If the respondent gaming companies' writ petition is granted, the High Court's initial order will be withheld for a three-week duration.

This legal matter was initiated when a Division Bench of the High Court, on January 31 of this year, issued an interim order in response to petitions contesting changes to the Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act, 1974. Gaming platforms contended that although Offline Rummy is skill-based and exempt from the Act, the revised Section 15 subjected even skill-based games to penalties.

The High Court acknowledged the skill element in physical Rummy but found insufficient evidence to determine whether Online Rummy possesses similar characteristics. Lacking insight into its operational dynamics, the High Court opted to form a committee, composed of members with judicial, technical, and non-technical expertise, alongside a police officer and government representative, to investigate the game's nuances.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, supported by a legal team, represented the Andhra Pradesh government, while Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya and associates stood for the respondent gaming companies. The Supreme Court's recent guidance aims to reconcile the skill-chance debate surrounding Online Rummy, factoring in both the committee's forthcoming insights and the revised IT rules.