Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi has withdrawn a question listed against his name in Rajya Sabha on government policy on betting and online gaming, a matter he has been involved in as a lawyer. Sources said Singhvi has withdrawn the starred question listed for Thursday. On December 13, The Indian Express reported that Singhvi, in his capacity as a senior advocate, appeared before the Karnataka High Court for a petitioner company which has challenged the Constitutional validity of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021 that bans all online gambling and betting. He argued that there is a distinction between a game of chance and a game of skill. As MP, Singhvi had a starred question — it requires an oral answer on the floor of the House — listed against his name for December 16 on the same issue. He wanted the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to state: A. The details of advisory issued by the Ministry on advertisements on fantasy sports; B. The reasons for not making any differentiation between games of skills and games of chance in it; C. The policy position of the Ministry on these categories. Singhvi, who appeared for Gameskraft Technologies Pvt Ltd in the All India Gaming Federation vs State of Karnataka case before the High Court on November 11, denied any conflict of interest. “I have given seven reasons earlier, each of which I reiterate without repetition, which show there was absolutely no conflict of interests, either in fact or intended or remotely thought of. I repeat them herein without restating them. Nevertheless, to obviate attempts to sensationalise or distort, I thought it fit to withdraw the question in question. Nothing more nothing less,” he told The Indian Express. He had said he had appeared for online rummy operators on legal points of games of skills versus games of chance for more than eight years in the Supreme Court and different High Courts.
