‘Not gambling’: HC rejects PIL seeking ban on Dream 11

The court rejected the PIL in light of a Punjab HC judgement, and the SC, concurring that such games could not be deemed as gambling.

The Bombay high court (HC) has rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) against the online gaming platform Dream 11, which claimed it was encouraging betting and gambling.

The Bombay high court (HC) has rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) against the online gaming platform Dream 11, which claimed it was encouraging betting and gambling. (Bhushan Koyande/HT File photo)

The cricket-centric gaming platform requires participants to choose their team of 11 and deposit an acknowledgement amount, which is then distributed among participants whose choice of players score the most points on game day.

The court rejected the PIL in light of a Punjab HC judgement, and the SC, concurring that such games could not be deemed as gambling. The division bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre, while hearing the PIL by Gurdeep Sachar, was informed by senior advocate Dr Sujay Kantawala that the promoters were encouraging gambling and did not pay taxes.

Kantawala had said that gullible people used to deposit an amount through the gaming platform while selecting their team. He argued that it was gambling and it should be banned.

However, the promoters argued it was not gambling as it requires participants to make a studied decision on fielding players in their team before match day.

They further argued that the Punjab high court had observed that such online gaming competitions could not be termed as gambling. They pointed out that as the process of choosing a team did not involve any service, the question of paying GST did not arise. After hearing both sides, the bench upheld the contentions of promoters and dismissed the PIL.