Indian high court rules that playing daily fantasy sports is not betting

The Punjab and Haryana high court in India handed down an important finding this week, ruling that daily fantasy sports activity is a skill-based form of gaming and therefore does not constitute gambling.

The Times of India reports that Justice Amit Rawal opined that playing fantasy games online requires considerable skill, judgment and discretion, and that such games therefore cannot be considered gambling.

The case arose after a local resident, Varun Gumber, approached the court claiming that he had been a victim of illegal gambling on fantasycricket.dream11.com. According to the petition, he had lost money while playing some games. Gumber demanded criminal prosecution of the company under the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

Gumber had registered himself on the website on March 9 and transferred Rs 50,000 in the website account through his credit card to participate in various leagues created on the website.

He created a virtual team for a cricket match between Ireland and Afghanistan by choosing 11 players. The petitioner submitted that at the end of the match, he lost Rs 24,000, which he had bet on his virtual team while playing in various leagues.

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