Month: October 2021

The crackdown on online games featuring betting is set to continue and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has spoken about the importance of the law being equal to all. According to the Economic Times, the minister added that they will not discriminate regardless of whether the lawbreaker is an Indian or a foreign gaming company.

The minister’s comments were in response to several grievances from different sections of the Indian gaming firms highlighting the fact that a few offshore operators weren’t being taken into account for flouting the new law placing a ban on betting and wagering.

The new law, which is being opposed by different gaming firms, places a complete ban on online games involving betting and financial risk. On the 5th of Oct, the Govt of Karnataka notified the law after the state legislature went on to pass amendments to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963.

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), which expressed its disappointment since the new law fails to make a distinction between games of skill and chance, through its CEO, Roland Landers, have spoken about how the law has not impacted foreign gambling apps. In an email statement to the Economic Times, Landers has quoted his disappointment on seeing illegal foreign gambling apps functioning in the state and promoting their activities.

Landers has also pointed out how gaming startups have been affected by the new law, including homegrown online skill gaming companies that have been paying taxes accordingly.

While the AIGF have also been arguing about the law leaving out the differentiation between games of skill and chance, the home minister defended the law by saying that it does not target games of skill but the ones involving money by way of betting.

With a series of petitions being filed from two sides of the argument, Justice Krishna S Dixit will take up the hearing for the same at the High Court. The petitioners have sought interim relief, which mainly includes a stay on the operations of amendments made to the Act.

The long-standing debate on fantasy sports continues as a PIL filed before the Karnataka High Court, seeking to ban offering and playing Fantasy sports, came up for hearing on the 22nd of Oct. A bench composed of the Chief Justice and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum heard the petition.

The gaming segment of fantasy sports, in recent weeks, has seen several petitions filed for and against it as petitioner, Saahil Nalwaya, who filed a PIL with the Karnataka High Court, has also filed a similar PIL with the High Court of Rajasthan, seeking to make fantasy games a criminal offence under the KPA (Karnataka Police Act).

On the other hand, courtrooms are also holding hearings to listen to the PILs filed by AIGF (All India Gaming Federation) and real money gaming company MPL (Mobile Premier League) challenging the amendments to KPA which came into effect on the 5th of Oct.

Agreeing to the request of Senior Advocate Aravind P. Datar, who appears for AIGF, the High Court directed the Advocate General appearing on behalf of the state government to make no arrests under the amendment that is now being heavily challenged by gaming firms.

While that comes as a relief for fantasy sports operators, things were not exactly the same at the start of the month. The Bengaluru Police had filed an FIR against the cofounders of Dream11 for continuing operations in the state, despite the latest developments on fantasy sports. Online rummy portal SilkRummy also saw a similar case being filed with the Cottonpet Police.

The numerous petitions filed by gaming companies will be heard next on the 27th of Oct.

Jungle Games, which operates online games, websites and fantasy sports portals, is the latest company to file a writ petition, going against Karnataka’s new gaming law. The petition was filed on Monday and was processed through Advocate Arjun PK, who has also represented Head Digital Works and Play Games 24×7.

Ever since the new law, banning online gaming, was introduced, gaming companies, along with the All India Gaming Federation have approached the High Court challenging the law. Be it in Tamil Nadu, Kerala or Karnataka, gaming companies have moved ahead to take on the law and seek some form of clarity on the issue.

Through the orders of the Kerala and Madras High Court, gaming companies are looking forward to judicial scrutiny of the laws, which they believe would bring clarity and define the status of real money gaming in the country. As a result, petitions, similar to the current one, have already been filed with the high courts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

On the other hand, a petitioner has also filed a PIL with the Karnataka High Court looking for directions to amend the Karnataka Police Act, 1963 in order to prohibit FIFS-complaint fantasy sports in the state. The petitioner has also been allotted an FR number and is pending final registration.

Delta Corp, which is India’s biggest gaming company has approached the Govt of Goa requesting either a waiver or a reduction on its casino license fees for specific periods where the casino had been closed due to the impact of Covid-19. This particular request was followed by the company’s announcement on Monday that the loss for three months to 30th September 2021 amounted to ₹.22.57 Crores.

While the figure has seen a reduction from ₹.28.24 crore in the quarter of June and ₹.54.91 crore in the third quarter of 2020, the company said it has requested a waiver or reduction in license fees for the 1H21 and 3Q21. The request is followed by the closing down of casinos in March, which only re-opened this month with several restrictions in place.

In a statement put forward by the company, it has said that the provision of license fees that are mentioned in the books may not be payable in full or in part according to the direction of the Government of Goa. Apart from losses due to the closing down of casinos, Delta Corp has also reported that income from online games of skill fell year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter to ₹.40.45 crore.

Online fantasy platform Dream11 has suspended its operations in Karnataka, following a ban on online gambling. The fantasy app, in a statement released to the press, has stated that they have decided to shut down their operations as their users have expressed concerns over the safety and security of using it. They have also made it clear that the decision was without prejudice and is contentious under the law. 

While the Karnataka Police has recently amended its gaming law in order to prohibit online gambling, wagering and betting, Dream11 understands that the act does not apply to them. According to their statement, Dream11 has spoken about the advice that they received from the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), who have clarified that the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act 2021 does not apply to its member since the FIFS format of Fantasy sports has been upheld by the Hon’ble Courts of India.

With the format not leading to gambling, betting or wagering, Dream11 decided to suspend operations entirely based on user concerns. However, more trouble followed for the fantasy brand as a case was registered against them after modifying the law. Manjunath, a cab driver in Bengaluru was the one who filed a complaint against the owners of Dream Sports. Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Sanjeev Patil also clarified that the case was registered under Section 79 and 80 of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963.

While Section 79 relates to keeping a common gaming house, Section 80 refers to gaming in a common gaming house. In his complaint, Manjunath said that he read about the amended Karnataka Police Act, 1963 and then searched Google Play Store to understand how many online games have withdrawn their services. Since companies had already blocked their mobile applications, there weren’t a lot of online games except for Dream11. 

In his statement, Manjunath also said that he is aware of players investing money into the fantasy sports brand with the hope of winning but would eventually end up losing it. He further insisted that the one who grabs the money is not transparent and players have no control over the activities, which he alleges is a clear case of running online games of wagering and skill. 

Dream11 has replied to the complaint saying that it is motivated and they are currently examining legal remedies. They stated that they are a responsible and law-abiding company and are ready to extend complete cooperation to all authorities. 

Deltin has come up with a new campaign to help guests explore an unmatched experience of the “BestAssured” safety protocol. The luxury gaming and entertainment brand launched the new campaign called ‘Relive The Deltin Life’ with a high-decibel video starring Rajeev Khandelwal. The video is a detailed look into the new experience and framework put forward by Deltin to help guests understand the true mark of luxury.

Arindam Basu, GM-Marketing also expressed his excitement to see how the Deltin life would work as he believes that the new set of onlookers are not only here for a thrilling lifestyle but also a glamorous and safe ambience. Basu also said that they are looking forward to welcoming guests to the premium quality services that Deltin has to offer, which are also accompanied by hygiene protocol and best-in-class safety.

Bollywood actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who is the brand ambassador of ‘BestAssured’, also followed up on the same by expressing his happiness over being the face of the campaign. He stated that one can only be present and experience the global standards that Deltin has to offer. He further stated his assurance that guests would not only love the experience but would also enjoy it. 

The Bengaluru police have filed a first information report (FIR) against the founders of Dream 11, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth. The report was filed after complaints stating that the fantasy platform continued its operations a week after the Karnataka state government notified the online gaming ban law for stakes with effect from the 5th of October. 

The police have also launched a probe into the matter to further investigate the fact that the platform continued to operate despite the ban. Dream11, on the other hand, has also stopped responding to user queries on matters relating to the legal status to play on the platform from Karnataka. 

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and three online gaming companies have also weighed in on the matter by filing written petitions in the Karnataka High Court challenging the validity of the law. The petitions have also stated that the law is vague, arbitrary and has all the ingredients needed for it to be struck down. Moving further, the petitioners also asked for interim relief for staying the operational provisions and a directive to the police that they do not disturb or prevent companies from carrying forward their business.