Is poker gambling or a game of skill?

That was the question posed by the Gujarat High Court to the state government following the recent raids by state police on several poker rooms in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Last week, the Indian Poker Association (IPA) filed a plea asking the high court for “urgent adjudication” after Gujarat police took down three poker rooms in less than a month. The first raid involved a poker room operated by AAA Gaming in Surat, followed by another club operating in the Navrangpura Hotel in Ahmedabad, then finally the Headquarters Poker Room, operated by Vasim Rozani, in Gujarat’s largest city.

In its petition, the association claimed that poker is a game of skill and playing the game “is an activity that is protected under the right to free trade and commerce, which is guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.”