With widespread debates about their legality, people in government may be exploring the idea of a single regulatory body to moderate online fantasy games, and they may be considering legalising some aspects of sports betting, Indian Express reported.
Government think tank Niti Aayog proposed in a draft paper last month “uniform national-level regulation” of Online Fantasy Sports Platforms (OFSPs) with some initiatives including legislative safeguards and a regulatory framework.
This comes a month after Anurag Thakur, MoS for Finance, suggested that betting and gambling activities be legalised in India. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also said that these platforms are instrumental in “revolutionising” sports watching.
Niti Aayog has flagged in its report that these platforms are “unscrupulous operators who lure users with games of questionable legality in the guise of fantasy sports”.
There have been multiple petitions in courts seeking a ban on these platforms. The Supreme Court had stayed a judgment in March 2020 and upheld the legality of fantasy sports. It is banned in many states including Telangana, Assam, Odisha, Nagaland and Sikkim.
Fantasy sports: A raging industry in India
Fantasy sports platforms are seeing a drastic growth in India, with nearly 2 million users in June 2016 going up to 90 million in December 2019. The number of players in the sector also went up from 10 in 2016 to over 140 in 2019. The sector may create as many as 12,000 jobs in the next two years, according to a report by KPMG India.
This couple with the fact that some of India’s most prominent cricket players and sportspersons are seen promoting one fantasy sports platform or another only means massive demand and expansion for this sector.
The IE report quotes Financial Times data which says that venture capital going into gaming-related startups has reached almost $340 million in 2019 from a mere $25 million a few years ago.
Dream11, one of the biggest fantasy sports platforms, raised as much as $225 million from USA-based fund Tiger Global, followed by Mobile Premier League which raised $90 million. These funds are mainly used to sponsor tournaments across the country and some abroad, like football, hockey, cricket and kabbadi.
Self-regulation
Niti Aayog has asked these companies to practice ‘self-regulation’. The draft reads that a “self-regulatory organisation,” should approach states and ask “them to consider granting to OFSPs immunity from criminal prosecution or sanction in respect of such formats of fantasy sports contests that are compliant with these guiding principles”.
But experts have said that more safety measures may be required for the industry.