K R LAKSHMANAN Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Madras Race Club (the club) is an Association registered as a company with limited liability under the Companies Act, 1956. The club was formed in the year 1896 by taking over the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile unincorporated club known as Madras Race Club. According to its Memorandum and Articles of Association, the principal object of the club is to carry on the business of a race club in the running of horse races. The Club is one of the five "Turf Authorities of India", the other four being the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, the Royal Western India Turf Club Limited, the Bangalore Turf Club Limited and the Hyderabad Race Club. Race meetings are held in the club's own race course at Madras and at Uthagamandalam (Ooty) for which bets are made inside the race course premises. While horse races are continuing in the rest of the country, the Tamil Nadu Legislature, as back as 1949, enacted law by which horse racing was brought within the definition of "gaming". The said law, however, was not enforced till 1975, when it was challenged by the club by way of a writ petition before the Madras High Court. The writ petition was dismissed by the High Court. These proceedings before us are sequel to the chequered history of litigation, between the parties, over a period of two decades.

(2.) From the pleadings of the parties and the arguments addressed before us by the learned counsel the following questions arise for our consideration:-

(3.) The New Encyclopaedia Britannica defines gambling as "The betting or staking of something of value, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain on the outcome of a game, a contest, or an uncertain even the result of which may be determined by chance or accident or have an unexpected result by reason of the better's miscalculations'. According to Black's Law Dictionary (Sixth Edition) "Gambling involves, not only chance, but a hope of gaining something beyond the amount played. Gambling consists of consideration, an element of chance and a reward".........Gambling in a nut-shell is payment of a price for a chance to win a prize. Games may be of chance, or of skill and chance combined is determined entirely or in part by lot or mere luck. The throw of the dice, the turning of the wheel, the shuffling of the cards, are all modes of chance. In these games the result is wholly uncertain and doubtful. No human mind knows or can know what it will be until the dice is thrown, the wheel stops its revolution or the dealer has dealt with the cards. A game of skill, on the other hand - although the element of chance necessarily cannot be entirely eliminated - is one in which success depends principally upon the superior knowledge, training, attention, experience and adroitness of the player. Golf, chess and even Rummy are considered to be games of skill. The Courts have reasoned that there are few games, if any, which consist purely of chance or skill, and as such a game of chance is one in which the element of chance predominates over the element of skill, and a game of skill is one in which the element of skill predominates over the element of chance. It is the dominant element - "skill" or "chance" - which determines the character of the game.