The Karnataka High Court struck down the state’s recent online gaming law as unconstitutional, providing much-needed relief to skill-based gaming companies that had shut down their operations in the state. This ruling is likely to pave the way for fantasy gaming and sports firms like Dream11, Mobile Premier League, Games24x7 (RummyCircle, My11Circle), and Ace2Three to make a comeback in the state, having suspended their operations in October last year.
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The bench had reserved its verdict on December 22 after concluding hearings on a clutch of petitions including industry associations, gaming companies, and individuals who had challenged the constitutional validity of the new state online gaming law that came into effect on October 5.
The skill gaming industry body, All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the self-regulatory body for the fantasy sports industry Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), real-money gaming companies Mobile Premier League (MPL), Games24x7, A23(Ace2Three), Junglee Games, Gameskraft, and Pacific Games, are among the dozen odd petitioners that had approached the high court against the law.
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These petitions questioned the constitutional validity of the amendments made to the Karnataka Police Act that banned all forms of online gaming where money transfer is involved.
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