High Court Rules in Favor of Ushering Legal Fantasy Sports Betting in India

The High Court in India has provided a positive sign that it might eventually legalize online fantasy sports betting in the country. Although there has been no final ruling in the matter, the High Court judge has expressed his views in favor of online fantasy sports stating that it does not fall under the category of traditional gambling and that it requires a substantial amount of skill to pursue. As such, the High Court’s suggestion in the matter will help achieve a greater level of clarity on the much-debated issue of legalizing DFS or daily fantasy sports in India. However, it might be a little early to regard it as a victory.

The issue came to the forefront in April last year, when a hotshot lawyer, Varun Gumber, filed a lawsuit in the local court against the alleged criminal activities of an online fantasy sports betting website called Dream11. In response to the criminal charges against Dream11, the then-High Court Justice Amit Rawal declared that since the Daily fantasy sporting events require a significant amount of skill to play and win, it can be safely said that it does not fall under the scope of conventional gambling.

He further added that in order to make well-informed decisions about DFS wagering, the participants are required to necessarily keep track of regular player activities, the weather, historical records, sporting events and other factors that might eventually impact the outcome of the game.

As he was not satisfied with the ruling announced by Justice Amit Rawal, Varun Gumber decided to take the issue to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana later in August. However, the two judges on the High court bench, namely Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Rohinton F. Nariman, also took sides with Justice Rawal and summarily dismissed the petition.

As such, the dismissal of Gumber’s petition might be indicative of the fact that the daily fantasy sports might eventually be legalized in the country somewhere down the line. However, the decision ruled by the court simply tackles the criminal charges filed by Gumber and does not go into the depths of the associated legal implications of authorizing DFS in the country. For DFS to have a bright future in India, the government would be required to duly sign a legislation to the effect into law.