Indian police shutter 500 poker rooms

October 9, 2018

The police in Bengaluru in the Indian province of Karnataka have reported the shutdown of 500 poker rooms since the beginning of October in a series of raids prompted by a necessity to clampdown on public disorder rather than moving against poker, which the state courts have ruled is a game of skill (see previous […]

Pokerstars shows it means business in India

June 13, 2018

PokerStars gave an indication of its ambitions in the relatively new Indian poker market this week by announcing significant increases in the guarantees on its weekly tournaments – up to 40 percent. The move appears to be a restructuring, and includes reductions in the buy-ins for certain events to bring more players to the tables…and […]

Pokerstars India set for launch April 17

March 29, 2018

Speculation earlier this month that the launch of PokerStars India was imminent (see previous InfoPowa report) became reality this week when the online poker provider announced that it will be closing its dotcom international poker room in India and replacing it with a local PokerStars India version. A message on the website informed players that […]

Indian poker and rummy advocates lose court action

November 21, 2017

Samir Patel, a club owner in the Indian state of Gujarat who petitioned the local High Court for a ‘no objection certificate’ or a licence to operate a poker room on grounds that poker and rummy are games predominantly of skill and not chance, and aer therefore not gambling, has been rebuffed by the court. […]

Festival of Light good for Indian poker websites

October 23, 2017

The Indian holiday celebrating Diwali – the triumph of light over darkness – has provided a welcome boost to online poker operators across the nation, reports the Times of India. Spartan Poker saw its usual average of around 500 concurrent players double during the holiday, with average bets tripling from Rs 100 per table to […]

Global Poker League is India-bound

September 7, 2017

Following the completion of the inaugural international Global Poker League Season last December, and the launch of the League’s first regional tour in China, GPL is now planning a second regional initiative in India. In a statement Tuesday, the League revealed that the Indian GPL will involve six teams from India’s “largest and most poker-friendly” […]

Hopes rise for Indian poker

August 6, 2017

32 Indian citizens busted by police in Ahmedabad for playing poker will have their day in court following a ruling from the state’s High Court ordering police to hold on pressing charges pending a hearing set for September 28. On Friday, Justice A J Desai ruled that the police may continue their investigations, but restrained […]

Litigation continues between online poker sites in India

March 13, 2017

The tug ‘o war litigation between Spartan Poker and Spartan Online, two Indian online poker providers seeking to claim the brand as their own, but with neither able to claim official approval for it (see previous  reports) continued this week with a civil case filed in the Calcutta High Court by Spartan Poker chief Rajat […]

India-facing online poker site offline

December 28, 2016

The operations of Celebrity Poker, an Indian-facing online poker site launched amid considerable hype in September 2016 by Brit businessman Raj Kundra and his wife, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, appear to have been discontinued, with the site no longer accessible. Media reports indicate that Kundra, who has not yet issued a statement on the […]

Indian province issues tweo more online poker licences

December 20, 2016

Two more companies have been awarded online poker licenses by the Indian province of Nagaland under its new skill games regulatory regime established through the Nagaland Prohibition of Gambling & Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act 2016. Indian online poker companies Quantumskill Gaming and Tech. Pvt. Ltd. and WYZ Games Pvt. Ltd. […]