The High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur on Friday granted interim relief to SBN Gaming Network Pvt. Ltd., operator of the fantasy gaming platform SportsBaazi. The court issued a directive restricting the operation of the SportsBaazi website within Chhattisgarh but allowed it to continue functioning in other parts of India. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, while presiding over the case, ordered the platform to be geo-blocked specifically in the state, noting that the action must not extend nationwide without due process. The court stated, “The petitioner’s app offering ‘Rummy’ qualifies as a skill-based game and is not prohibited under the IT Act or the IT Rules.” The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by the company, challenging a May 5 directive from the state police.
Justice Prasad observed that authorities blocked the SportsBaazi app across India without giving the company prior notice or a chance to present its case. The court raised concerns over the absence of procedural fairness in the action initiated by Chhattisgarh’s police under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and regional gambling laws. The court noted that “betting and gambling” fall under the State List (List-2), while “skill-based gaming” falls under the Union List (List-1) governed by the Information Technology Act. This distinction raises questions over state jurisdiction in regulating such platforms. The ruling acknowledged the strategic and skill-driven nature of the gameplay, adding that it involves “strategy, mutation, and combination,” thereby reinforcing its status as a “Game of Skill.”
(With Input From ANI)
