At a time when the online gaming industry is full of hope and despair at the same time, Monday’s crucial Supreme Court hearing may determine the future of fantasy sports in India and provide top lawyers with hints about the cruel real-money gaming controversy.

The jury consisted of Judge Rohinton Fali Nariman, Judge K.M. Joseph, and Judge B.R. Hawaii will hear Avinash Mehrotra’s lawsuit against Rajasthan, which has always been a thorn in the eye of the leading fantasy cricket operator, Dream11.

The dispute between skill and opportunity has been going on for more than two years. When bonuses are linked to games of skill, the court takes a dual position. Judge Nariman is very familiar with fantasy sports. This great “conflict” has been heard about at least three times, and each time, Judge Nariman contemptuously rejected those who wanted to exile their imagination to the realm of “opportunity”. The text of Monday’s hearing is based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s observation that online games can bring psychological pressure to the younger generation. The public’s response to Prime Minister Modi’s tweets was mainly against real money and products that incite violence like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds(Pubg).

Associations such as AIGF (All India Gaming Federation) and ESFI (ESports Federation of India) are fragmented and have not been able to unite most of the operators. This is the first time the Prime Minister has shown interest in this field. He will undoubtedly maintain a high moral status. His recent speech on Man Ki Baat urged young people to give up drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. He will not be subject to the prime minister who rejects all forms of addiction.

In the past year, Niti Aayog has shown a certain trend to clean up the main online gaming business. However, most companies operating in the RMG region objected to Niti Aayog’s intentions of being biased towards fantasy sports. Finally, Niti Aayog lost steam and the matter reached the PMO. In their search, Indian celebrities, especially the former Indian cricket team captains, did not like being on TV and digital Play ads in the format.

Even so, the company found a way to attract people of all ages to get bonuses for real money. Operators have invested millions of dollars in cricket, the number one long-distance sport in India. Under the leadership of former captain MS Dhoni, almost the entire Indian Gurdeep Singh Sachar submitted a PIL to the Mumbai High Court on April 24, 2019, that a company has evaded GST by not paying the entrance fee and face value tax.

Surprisingly, a private court of the Mumbai High Court, composed of judges Ranjit Mora and Bharati Dangre, rejected the Sahar case on January 12. In 2020, several investigations required to review the decision of the Mumbai High Court on April 30 were unanswered. The judges strongly refused to investigate the nature of that company’s business, which was popular only because its association with Indian cricket and live events was noteworthy on January 24th and 31st.

It remains to be seen that the Prime Minister opposes games that cause psychological stress, public opinion does not support gaming that leads to suicide, and that several state governments classify online gaming as a “social evil”. Mr. Nariman, Hawaii, and Joseph are handling this matter to resolve it. An issue that may change the rules of the game in the online gaming industry.

Credits: OutlookIndia