INDIAN GAMING
Karnataka HC stays single judge bench’s interim order permitting horse racing & betting in Bangalore Turf Club despite state govt’s license non-renewal
The Karnataka High Court stayed a June 18 the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) to conduct on-course and off-course horse racing and betting. The Division Bench of Chief Judge NV by the State government.
As reported by Bar and Bench, the stay was pronounced after the court concluded that the State had presented a strong case, suggesting that the refusal to grant a license for horse stayed. The respondent-original petitioner club
is prohibited from conducting on-course and off-course horse racing and betting even during the pendency of the petition (challenging of the petition,” stated the court’s operative portion.
The case revolves around the State Home Department’s refusal to issue a racing license and the Finance Department’s denial of a betting license to BTC, both orders dated June 6. These refusals prompted a series of writ petitions from not only BTC but also the Karnataka Trainers Association, punters, and the Jockeys’ Association of India.
The petitioners argued that horse racing and betting activities had a history of over a century and contributed to the economy, supporting more than 20,000 people and generating over 1 crore in daily tax revenue. Conversely, the State accused BTC of facilitating illegal betting, leading to the license denials and claimed a substantial tax evasion loss of 296 crore due to these activities. Judge SR Krishna Kumar, in his interim order on June 18, found the State’s refusal orders that BTC was not given a fair opportunity to present its case and that the show-cause notice issued lacked detailed particulars. Consequently, Judge Kumar had granted interim relief allowing BTC to resume its activities during the pendency of their petition.
However, this interim relief has now been suspended by the Division Bench, which also left open the question of whether other petitioners apart from BTC have the legal standing to pursue their writ petitions.
The ongoing legal battle continues to attract attention given its impact on the livelihoods of many and the economic contributions from the horse racing and betting industry in Karnataka. as the High Court deliberates further on the petitions.
Bombay HC refuses to quash FIR on online poker website Natural8 India, says allegations of bots, manipulation should be investigated
The Goa bench of Bombay High Court this week refused to quash a First Information Natural8 India’s directors Kunal Patni and Sonia Madan Jain in February this year. As per the FIR, Gamoski Networks (the parent entity of Natural8 India) and the accused persons, Patni and Jain, allowed players to deposit money on the Natural8 website and play the game of poker. The FIR alleged that there is manipulation, cheating and rigging of games as well as misappropriation of funds. Accordingly, the accused were charged for cheating, criminal breach of trust and gambling under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Goa Public Gambling Act. Refusing to quash the said FIR, the Bombay High Court bench comprising of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Karnik said merely because none of players of the online portal
investigation. The Court said that allegation of usage of bots required investigation. Seeking to quash the FIR, the counsel for the company Natural8 and other accused said the allegations are unsubstantiated and intended to harass the accused.
It may be noted that Natural8 India had launched operations in September 2023 by a licensing agreement with the global Natural8 website, with Patni as the founder. The website has been conducting some of the largest tournaments in the country by allowing players across the globe to compete with Indian users. According to experts allowing international players to play against Indian players is not The global Natural8 website is owned by the GGPoker group, which is one of the largest global online gaming operators having gambling
licenses from various countries and having tied
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www.g2g.news JULY 2024 35
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