Court Number 4 on Friday has rejected a PIL seeking a ban on Mumbai based fantasy cricket platform Dream11 quoting that it’s a game of skills and doesn’t promote gambling. The petition, seeking a ban on online fantasy gaming platforms, was filed amidst the growing presence of fantasy gaming platforms that deal in multiple games like Rummy or Pool besides cricket.
Notably, the Tencent-backed Dream11 is the first Indian company to have entered the Unicorn Club in April this year. Dream11 is a fantasy game wherein players can create different virtual sports teams, comprising as many players in real-life cricket teams.
The contention in the case was that the petitioner alleged that Dream11 amounts to gambling/ betting because it lets players use real cash to compete against virtual players.
However, the court held that the result of the contest offered by Dream11 is not at all dependent on winning or losing of any particular team in the real-world game. Thus, the game doesn’t promote gambling of any sort.
The judges also made mention of the Punjab & Haryana High Court judgment in Dream 11’s case wherein it was held that such contests are game of skill and not a game of chance.
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Notably, this is not the first time Dream11 had to prove it validness under law’s scrutiny, earlier this year, Gurdip Singh Sachar, an advocate, recently filed criminal public interest litigation (PIL) against Dream 11. However, judges rubbished the PIL.
For facts, as per a survey by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming, India will entertain a whopping 100 million-plus fantasy cricket players by 2020.
