“The expression ‘gaming’ in the two Acts has to be interpreted in the light of the law laid-down by this Court in the two 1957 cases, wherein it has been authoritatively held that a competition which substantially depends on skill is not gambling. Gaming is the act or practice of gambling on a game of chance. It is staking on chance where chance is the controlling factor. ‘Gaming’ in the two Acts would, therefore, mean wagering or betting on games of chance.
· The competitions where success depends on substantial degree of skill are not “gambling” and
· Despite there being an element of chance if a game is preponderantly a game of skill it would nevertheless be a game of “mere skill”.
"Rummy, on the other hand, requires certain amount of skill because the fall of the cards has to be memorised and the building up of Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards. We cannot, therefore, say that the game of Rummy is a game of entire chance. It is mainly and preponderantly a game of skill. The chance in Rummy is of the same character as the chance in a deal at a game of bridge".
“A game of skill, on the other hand - although the element of chance necessarily cannot be entirely eliminated is one in which success depends principally upon the superior knowledge, training, attention, experience and adroitness of the player. The Courts have reasoned that there are few games, if any, which consist purely of chance or skill, and as such a game of chance is one in which the element of chance predominates over the element of skill, and a game of skill is one in which the element of skill predominates over the element of chance. It is the dominant element “skill” or “chance” which determines the character of the game”.
The various Supreme Court rulings and the Gaming Acts of India imply the following: