India’s online rummy operators were dealt a blow on Friday after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of state laws prohibiting playing the game for stakes.

On Friday, Indian wire services reported that a full bench of the Supreme Court in New Delhi had dismissed a writ petition filed in May by rummy operator Krida Sports and Games Pvt Ltd that sought to limit police interference in rummy games played for stakes.

The Chennai-based Krida Sports and Games filed its writ in response to the Telangana state government amending its Gaming Act 1974 to include a new definition of “cyber space” and removing the exemption for betting or wagering on games of skill. Telangana’s move was quickly followed by the state governments in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The company, which had sought to launch rummy clubs in the three states, claimed its fundamental rights were being infringed by the amended laws. India’s rummy and poker operators never truly know where they stand with legal authorities, with some rummy events going off without a hitch, while others are disrupted by hordes of police expressing shock – shock! – that such activities are going on under their noses.