Dream11 founders move Karnataka high court to quash gaming ban FIR

Mumbai: Founders of online fantasy sports platform Dream11 — Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain — have moved the Karnataka high court seeking to quash a first information report filed against them over the new state law banning wagering and betting in online games, people familiar with the matter told ET.

This comes two weeks after Dream11 had to suspend its operations in Karnataka, following complaints alleging violation of the newly implemented gaming ban in the state. The Bengaluru Police filed the FIR against Jain and Sheth on a complaint that the Mumbai-based firm continued to offer gaming services on its platform a week after the state government notified the new rules disallowing what it termed as “games of chance”.

When contacted, Dream11 declined to comment on the matter.


Before it suspended operations in the state, Dream11 had maintained that the new law did not apply to the company. It said that it had been advised by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) — which had shared an opinion from a former Supreme Court judge — that the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, did not apply to its member operators. “This is because the FIFS format of fantasy sports has been upheld by the courts of India as not amounting to gambling, betting or wagering,” the company had said.

Last week, ET reported that the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) had filed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the amendments to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963. Other gaming companies including Mobile Premier League too have moved the court challenging the law. Karnataka is also among the top three states based on the number of fantasy gaming users, industry experts have told ET.

The Karnataka High Court will take up the AIGF petitions on October 27.

The federation has sought interim relief that includes a stay on the operation of the amendments to the Police Act relating to online gaming, and directions to the state government not to initiate proceedings under the provisions of the law during the pendency of the petition.

The petitioners have held that the Madras high court had recently struck down a similar law that tried to stop online skill gaming in Tamil Nadu.