The High Court in the Indian state of Karnataka February 14 struck down a law that would have made online gaming illegal. The law included skill-based games where a transfer of many was involved, but not actual gambling.
Violations were punishable by prison and fines.
The law had made fantasy sports illegal as well as gaming companies such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League, Games24x7 and Ace2Three. They are now expected to reenter the market.
The court only struck down the parts of the government law that it found violated the Constitution. It left the state government the option of new legislation that would be constitutional.
The law in question, the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, was passed last year. It attempted to forbid all forms of gambling except the lottery and horse racing.
The All India Gaming Federation, and several gaming companies, filed suit against the law. After the ruling the Federation said in a statement: “This is a step in the right direction to grow the burgeoning gaming industry in the state and will help unlock the immense economic potential this sector has.”
There is no overall federal law on gambling. States are free to adopt their own. But the Supreme Court of India has ruled that skilled-based games are legal under the constitution.
Several Indian states have attempted to ban skill-based games and their High Courts have all ruled against them.
India has one of the fastest-growing online gaming markets. It has more than 130 million online fantasy players. However, Indian law often does not draw distinctions between gambling and skill-based games.
