Skill v Chance: WinZo moves Delhi High Court to bring its games on Google Play Store

Social gaming platform WinZo had approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to Google to consider onboarding a bunch of its games on the Google Play Store. .Winzo has also sought a declaration that the games offered by it are games of skill and in compliance with the Indian laws. This declaration would entitle Winzo to seek availability of its platform and games on Google Play which, at present, Google is unfairly denying it. "...in the absence of a specific order from the Hon’ble Court in the context of the games of skill hosted by the Plaintiff, Defendants are unfairly refusing to allow the Plaintiff’s application that hosts games of skill, to be listed / made available on Google Play, leading to impairment of Plaintiff’s ability to reach a major portion of its intended/ target audience," WinZo said in its suit. .Advocate Abhishek Malhotra appeared for Winzo today before Justice Sanjeev Narula. He argued that Winzo's games have been tested from the perspective of preponderance of skill by an independent expert, Dr Neelesh S Upadhye, an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras..Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya, appearing for Google, contended that though Google has started a pilot program with two games, it has never said that it will allow all games of skill on Play Store. He argued that the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MEITY) issued a notification on April 6, 2023 making changes to the Information Technology (IT) Rules through which a certificate can be obtained on whether a game is one of skill or chance. However, even if the games are certified to be a game of skill, Google is not obliged to bring them on its platform, Poovayya submitted. .Malhotra responded that WinZo had filed its suit before the MEITY brought changes to the IT Rules and that he will now taken instructions on the same.The Court then proceeded to list the case for further consideration on April 24.