This is only because the police failed to clearly establish how the game is played and bets are recorded
The failure of cops to clearly state how ‘Andhar-Bahar’ is played and how it is a ‘game of chance’ resulted in the High Court citing a 1977 judgement and declaring that it “may be a game of skill’.
The police case filed against three people for betting on the card game was also quashed.

The three -- Pradhanappa, Ambruth Rao and Eranna -- all residents of Kalaburagi, were charged by the Shahabad Town police under the Karnataka Police Act.
The cops had found them playing the game when they had raided a CD shop on November 25, 2015.
They seized the cards and money which was allegedly used for betting. They were booked for keeping illegal gaming houses and playing in them.
The punishment prescribed is up to three months in prison for a first-time offence.
Skill Game in a Private
Their counsel who had approached the HC to get the case quashed, argued that they were playing in a private property which could not be termed a ‘gaming house’ as per the Karnataka Police Act.
They also contended that Andhar-Bahar is a game of skill and not a chance game played for betting.
1977 Case To The Rescue
The HC noted that in the 1977 case, (Eranna and Others Vs State of Karnataka) it was held that, “the charge against the accused were they were found playing Andhar-Bahar in a club and that Andhar-Bahar is a game of chance, unless the prosecution proves how the game of Andhar-Bahar is played and in what manner the bets are recorded, it could not be inferred that it was a pure and simple game of chance and not a game of skill. Holding that, the said game may be a game of skill, the Court has acquitted those accused persons.”
The court noted that this precedent was followed in another case in 2013 and case for playing Andhar-Bahar was quashed as in the “first information report itself nothing is stated how that game is a game of chance, how it was being played and no skill was involved in that game. When there is no specific allegations in the charge-sheet as to how it is a game of chance and it is not a game of skill, the proceedings cannot be allowed to be continued.” Though the HC ordered quashing of the case against the three, it allowed the amount which was recovered at the spot to be confiscated to the state.
Gambling laws toothless?

The VII Schedule of the Constitution empowers State governments to enact laws to maintain public order specifically in the areas of betting and gambling. Karnataka has enacted a chapter, under the Karnataka Police Act 1963, called Prevention of Gaming. This chapter describes that all types of wagering or betting in connection with any game of chance — except wagering or betting in horseracing at a licensed racecourse — attracts punishment. However, the humungous amount of money involved in the illegal betting market reflects on how law-enforcing agencies have failed or are incapacitated when it comes to betting in the country. And Karnataka is no different.

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