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PIL alleging Dream11 as a betting app filed in Rajasthan HC again

The controversy surrounding the Dream11 application has still not been put to rest as yet another Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed alleging them to be an online betting and gambling application.

The petitioner, Ravindra Singh Chaudhary had filed the PIL alleging that Dream11 Fantasy Private Limited provides a platform to its users for playing sports and games on a virtual platform. It also read that the Dream11, allows its users to register and play various games, to form their own teams for cricket, football, kabaddi, and NBA with a maximum budget of 100 crores.

The Rajasthan High Court dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the involvement of Dream11 in offenses of betting and gambling. The division bench headed by Indrajit Mahanthy clarified that since the result of a fantasy game depends on skill of the participant and not sheer chance, and winning or losing of a virtual team created by the participant is also independent of outcome of the game or event in the real world.

The Court held that the format of online fantasy games offered by Dream11 is a game of mere skill and their business has protection under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, as held by various Courts and affirmed by the Supreme Court previously. The court has declared that, “We are of the considered view that the PIL has been filed without any real public interest, without disclosing the relevant facts and without proper research. Various judgments in respect of respondent, Dream11 itself have not been referred to in this PIL. The PIL is misconceived.”

The PIL alleged that the game is purely “betting” on the cricket team and that online fantasy sports games are games of chance, thereby constituting illegal acts of gambling/betting and that authorities are not prohibiting this illegal act. This has been a consistent problem for Dream11 as a similar type of PIL was filed in the Rajasthan HC a few months ago. For more updates about the legality of Dream11 and other online betting apps, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com

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