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Bengaluru: Police complaint against online gaming firm for violating new law
The complaint comes two days after the Karnataka governor’s assent to a Bill that was passed by both houses of the state legislature in the just concluded monsoon session held between September 13 to 24
Bengaluru A police complaint was registered in Bengaluru on Thursday against a popular online gaming company for alleged violation of the newly enforced laws on online gambling and gaming barely two days after the contentious legislation was notified.
According to the Bengaluru police, a complaint was registered in Annapurnenshwari Nagar station on Thursday. “A complaint has been registered by a person who said that the website of Dream 11 continued to be active despite the new legislation coming into force. He said that this was a game of chance and not skill,” said a senior police official from Annapurneshwari Nagar on Friday.
He said that a case was registered under Section 79 and 80 of the Karnataka Police Act.
The complaint comes two days after the Karnataka governor’s assent to a Bill that was passed by both houses of the state legislature in the just concluded monsoon session held between September 13 to 24.
Araga Jnanendra, the home minister had tabled the ‘Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021’ to bring an amendment as technologies like smartphone, computers have increased gambling on apps and other platforms. He had said that terms like cyber space and online gaming were included in the Act.
The swift notifying of the ban on online gambling and gaming by the Basavaraj Bommai-led government has caught operators off guard who were hoping for some more time for the law to come into force, especially with the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) that brings in a significant chunk of the revenues.
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) on Wednesday had told Hindustan Times that it was “needless to say, the industry will challenge this in court and seek legal recourse”. Companies had on Wednesday said that they had banned users from Karnataka from accessing their respective apps.
Dream 11 declined to comment.
The bill comes at a time when Deepavali is just around the corner during which there is gambling in almost every household as part of the festivities.
The Indian gaming industry, part of the Sunrise sector, has been a roaring success in the country especially since the Covid-19 induced lockdown where engagement increased from around 2.5 hours (11% of total smartphone time) before the pandemic to 4.1 hours (15% of the total smartphone time) in just the first month of the lockdown, according to a June 2021 report by KPMG.
“The industry has been seeking clarity in regulation based on several precedents which establish the legitimacy of “games of skills” and the state should take cognizance of these judgements in issuing an enabling gaming policy that will facilitate growth and opportunity for this sector,” Biren Ghose, the chairman of the CII’s National committee on AVGC and president of Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI) said on Wednesday.
The online gaming industry, which gained significant traction during the Covid-19 -induced lockdown, is slated to grow from 360 million gamers to 510 million by 2022, according to a 2021 report by All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and EY.
The report adds that 85% of these are mobile gamers.
It also estimates that online real money game players are expected to grow from 80 million in 2020 to 150 million by 2023.
Estimates indicate that Karnataka, known for its prowess in technology, accounts for around 15% of the country’s market. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) there are 92 gaming companies registered in Bengaluru which employ over 4,000 people and have, in the last three years alone, attracted ₹3000 crores in investments.
