Is 'Ludo Supreme App' a game of chance or skill? Bombay High Court seeks Maharashtra govt's response

A Bombay high court bench, comprising Justices SS Shinde and Abhay Ahuja, issued a notice on Thursday, returnable on June 22, 2021 when the petition came up for hearing.

File pic: Zee News

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has sought a response from the Maharashtra government on a plea seeking a clarification that "Ludo is a game of chance and not a game of skill". The petition filed by Keshav Ramesh Muley, who is Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's office bearer, sought registration of a case against Cashgrail Private Limited, which owns the mobile application "Ludo Supreme App", on the ground that it promotes gambling, according to Bar and Bench.

A high court bench, comprising Justices SS Shinde and Abhay Ahuja, issued a notice on Thursday, returnable on June 22, 2021 when the petition came up for hearing.

Muley's contention was that the provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling (MPG) Act apply to the game if it is being played for the stake. The MNS leader submitted that a possibility of a 3-year-old winning the game could not be discounted and, hence, Ludo cannot be considered a game of mere skill but is a game of chance.

Initially, Muley had approached the Girgaon police station with a complaint against Cashgrail. The police, however, refused to lodge a First Information Report (FIR), therefore, he filed a complaint under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) at Girgaon, Mumbai seeking a probe into his complaint, said the Bar and Bench report.

The ACMM rejected the plea observing that the provisions of the MPG Act would not apply as "the game of Ludo is a game of skill and not a game of chance". The MNS leader then approached the High Court through advocate Nikhil Mengde against the ACMM order.

Muley submitted before the court that he had discovered that players could play by betting money in the game, adding that the format of the game was similar to the original board game format. The difference on the mobile application was that an entry fee is required to be paid before the game commenced.

He submitted that the game concluded by one player winning the game and the amounts, which have been given as "feeble pretext of prize money" for the table, is remitted into the electronic wallet of the winner. The plea further added that the prize money is not some notional or fictional winning but is the real-time currency of value, the plea stated.

The plea reportedly said, "The entire game is completely an uncertain future event and the occurrence or non-occurrence of a particular result is absolutely based on luck, or in other words based on 'chance'." 

The MNS leader also raised a grievance against the posting of the videos of the game on an online platform like YouTube, thereby, promoting the application that amounts to soliciting the activity of gambling.

He also reportedly prayed that an FIR should be registered on the complaint filed against the persons involved in the operation and management of Ludo Supreme App.