BANGALORE: Billiards and snooker are in a spot of identity crisis. Even as it was trying to avoid any tags on whether it is a sport or a form of amusement certain variations to the original have made people turn it into a form of betting and gambling. Parlours that have sprung up and where snooker and pool are largely played with money involved, have given cue sport a tag that it could do without.
Under the Public Amusement Act, 1989 owners of snooker and billiards “joints”, amusement parks and circus companies must take permission from the police.
The police commissioner is the licensing authority under the Licensing and Controlling of Places of Public Amusement (Bangalore City) Order, 1989. For running live bands; video game, billiards and snooker parlours; simulator centres, licence should obtained from the police.
With billiards and snooker parlours springing up in the city, the game’s administrators, the Karnataka State Billiards Association, have received representation from parlour owners to prevail upon the police to drop the names of billiards and snooker from the act and to treat it as a sport. More so as Karnataka has produced a number of fine players.
Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari has told the KSBA that he is only implementing the rules and changes can only be made in the assembly. The KSBA has dashed off a letter to the home minister VS Acharya detailing the achievements of players with a request that billiards and snooker be treated as a sport.
In the first instance, the act isn’t saying that at all. It is only targeting parlours which engage in snooker and pool games with a lot of betting involved. As such, the KSBA has little to worry.
But KSBA vice-president MC Uthappa and secretary Vijaya Prasad said that a lot of talented players emerge from parlours and not all parlours encourage gambling in the sport. “We were told by the Chief Minister’s office that parlours where liquor is served could be treated under the act,” Uthappa added.
But if that is the yardstick, then bars in club houses in the KSCA, KSHA and the golf courses will have to be closed. Probably, the best way out for the KSBA is to ask those serious about promotion of the game to register as clubs and give them affiliation as is done in most sports disciplines. Maybe such clubs could be out of the purview of the act. Probably, clubs like Bangalore Club or Century Club which promote the sport don’t not come under the purview of the act even now. Will the KSBA take the cue?