Winzo Games moves Delhi HC seeking to allowed on Play Store as game of skill

In its plea before the high court, the gaming intermediary has said that as the games offered by it are games of skill and therefore in compliance with India’s laws on online gaming, they should be allowed to be listed on the Play Store.

The Delhi High Court, while hearing the plea moved by Winzo, asked the company’s counsel to take instructions afresh as the Centre had released new rules for online gaming intermediaries.

In its statement, Winzo Games said that the suit moved before the Delhi high court was to challenge “the biased policy on Play Store and AdWords to allow only fantasy and rummy”.

“In such a scenario, WinZO’s only way to get fair access to the market was to get a similar validation from a competent court for all its games such as chess, carrom, trivia,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had notified the new rules for online gaming intermediaries. Under the new rules, an industry-led self-regulatory organisation, consisting of industry representatives and experts, will have the power to decide which games can be offered to users even as the government cautioned that it will not allow wagering or betting of any kind nor permit games that cause harm to consumers.

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Following the release of the rules, online gaming companies, including Dream11, Nazara Technologies, InMobi, Gameskraft, WinZo Games, and Mobile Premier League (MPL), met senior officials from the IT ministry and the minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar to understand certain aspects of the rules. In the meeting that lasted close to an hour, gaming companies sought further clarification in form of frequently asked questions (FAQ), especially on aspects such as gambling, betting and wagering on the outcome of a game, as these are state subjects.