Dream11 founders move Karnataka high court to quash gaming ban FIR

Dream11 cofounders Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain have moved the Karnataka High Court, seeking to quash an FIR filed by Karnataka Police over the state’s online gambling law that came into effect on October 5. Sheth and Jain filed the writ petition on Friday.

Earlier this month, the Karnataka Police had filed the case against Dream11 and its cofounders for continuing operations on its platform after October 5, the first such case under the new law.

The case was registered by Annapoorneshwarinagar Police in West Bengaluru under Section 79 (keeping common gaming house) and 80 (gaming in common gaming-house) of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, based on a complaint by 42-year-old cab driver Manjunatha, according to media reports. Dream11 declined to comment on this story to Moneycontrol.

The Karnataka High Court on October 22 had told the Advocate General appearing on behalf of the state government not to make arrests under the new law, which is currently facing a legal challenge from six petitioners, including skill gaming industry body All India Gaming Federation and real-money gaming firms like MPL, Games24x7, A23(Ace2Three), Junglee Games and Gameskraft.

These petitions challenge the constitutional validity of amendments made to the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act. The law had outlawed all forms of online gaming where transfer of money is involved.

The amendment came after a public interest litigation was filed in the high court seeking a ban on online gambling. It removed the distinction between the game of skill and game of chance, thereby bringing skill-based gaming startups under its purview.

While several platforms had immediately started blocking access to residents in Karnataka after the new law came into effect, Dream11 had continued operations for a few more days until its suspension on October 10.

At the time, the firm had said the law does not apply to members of Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), a self-regulatory industry body for fantasy sports, since the format “has been upheld by the Courts of India as not amounting to gambling, betting or wagering”. However, this suspension was made to allay “deep concerns and anxiety” from its users in the state and “is without prejudice to our rights and contentions under law”.

Moneycontrol had reported on October 24 that Dream11 has stopped allowing only those users in Karnataka who have a bank account within the state, from entering paid contests on the platform. Meanwhile, other platforms such as Mobile Premier League, Junglee Games, Adda52 and Games24x7-owned My11Circle have placed geoblocking restrictions on users within the state.

Over the past year, several states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have banned or tried to ban real-money games. The Madras High Court had struck down the suspension order in August while the Kerala High Court overturned the government’s order last month. The Supreme Court also upheld fantasy sports as a game of skill in July this year. Moneycontrol