Supreme Court has upheld Dream11 fantasy sports as game of skill

Through this order, the SC dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) that alleged that the Fantasy Sports format offered by Dream11 amounted to gambling, wagering and betting and is not a 'Game of Skill'.

The SC also reaffirmed the judgments passed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court and the Bombay High Court and has upheld the judgment passed by the Rajasthan High Court.

The petitioner had termed Dream 11 as a play of sheer chance involving betting on the cricket team. The petition had referred to a February 2020 decision of the New York Supreme Court, which, according to him, had held that the fantasy sports game was "pure gambling".

While deciding on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan had declined to entertain it, stating that in the light of orders passed by Punjab & Haryana High Court and Bombay High Court, the matter of gambling has already been put to rest.

Hence, the legality of Dream11's online fantasy sports format as protected by the Constitution of India is now final by law and in fact.

Gopal Jain, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India, said, "The Supreme Court while dismissing the SLP against Rajasthan High Court Order, has emphasized that, with the dismissal of SLPs against orders of Punjab & Haryana and Bombay High Court, the issue of gambling is already decided by it. Simply put, the Fantasy Sports formats which are in line with the analysis of the Punjab & Haryana High Court are games of skill and are legal formats no more open to scrutiny."

The Dream 11 format follows the format approved by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports Federation. It is currently the only judicially affirmed and industry-recognised format that is permitted under law,