Indian Court Rules Rummy Is Not Gambling Game
Recently, the High Court in the nation of India ruled that Rummy is not gambling:
The 13-card games like Rummy is a game of skill, and not gambling or game of chance, the Madras High Court has held, adding that police should not disturb club members and guests playing the game.
Justice S Rajeswaran, relying on a Supreme Court order of 1968 vintage, said: "The game of Rummy is mainly and predominantly a game of skill."
Justice Rajeswaran, in his order, referred to an apex court ruling delivered in 1968 stating: "The game of rummy is not a game entirely of chance like the 'three-card' game. The 'three-card' game, which goes under different names such as 'flush', 'brag', etc is a game of pure chance. Rummy, on the other hand, requires certain amount of skill because the fall of the card has to be memorized and the building up of Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards."
United States courts have long held that rummy games are not gambling (see Is Rummy A Game Of Luck Or A Game Of Skill?): "In 1964 a Las Vegas-based Gin Rummy tournament was promoted by mailing flyers to players. The post office objected on the grounds that it was illegal to promote a 'game of chance' (a lottery) through postal services. This case ended up in court. After listening to the testimony of experts that included statisticians and several prominent players, the US District Court of Las Vegas on February 23, 1965, ruled that Gin Rummy is indeed a game of skill."
It's good to see yet another nation make this common-sense distinction between skill games and gambling games!
