This Article is From Feb 04, 2022

"No Skill In Choosing Messi Or Maradona": Delhi High Court On Gaming Plea

Senior lawyer Vinay K Garg, appearing for the petitioner, said GAMEKING 11 required a player to select his team of 11 but "did not gamble on the performance of actual player"

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Delhi News

Delhi High Court was hearing a petition by Dream7 Entertainment

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court today told the Delhi government to consider and decide a representation claiming that "GAMEKING 11", a fantasy sports game, is a skill, not gamble and the authorities including the police should not create any hindrance in its operation.

Justice V Kameswar Rao told the authorities to convey their decision to the petitioner, Dream7 Entertainment Pvt Ltd, which argued that other high courts have held that similar fantasy sports games amounted to games of skill.

Senior lawyer Vinay K Garg, appearing for the petitioner, said GAMEKING 11 required a player to select his team of 11 but "did not gamble on the performance of actual player".

"What is the skill? There is no skill in choosing Messi and Maradona," the court questioned.

The senior lawyer explained that "skill was in selection" as "Messi and Maradona are costly players and with say 100 numbers a user has to choose 11 players" for his team.

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"You are saying it is a game of skill. Let the authorities apply their mind and come back to you. You will have a clearer picture when that order comes to you," the judge said.

The court said the petitioner was free to seek remedies available in law after the decision.

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Delhi government lawyer Santosh Kumar Tripathi said the petition can be considered as a representation by the competent authority and a speaking order can be passed within two weeks.

In the plea filed through lawyers Ajay Kumar Singh and Yatharth Singh, the petitioner claimed that it was a leading platform for online fantasy sports games such as fantasy cricket, fantasy kabaddi and fantasy football.

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A user "selects, builds and acts as manager" of his virtual team constituting of real players who compete with the virtual teams of other users for points and "winner of such fantasy sports game is the participant whose virtual team accumulates the greatest number of points across the round(s) of the game", it said.

The petition said GAMEKING 11 did not attract the rigors of Delhi Gambling Act, 1955 and the petitioner has the necessary trade licence from South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

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However, the police "started creating problems" in the smooth running of their fantasy sports centres, it alleged.

"The officer of Respondent No 2 (Delhi Police) at PS Lajpat Nagar New Delhi, has visited the premises of the petitioner in the area, several times and has without passing any order in writing, orally directed not to continue with the aforesaid activity else the same shall be booked under the Delhi Gambling Act and closed down," the petition alleged.

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