Fantasy sports came to India in the later half of the 2010s. The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) is the highest governing body.

India has many fantasy mobile gaming applications. The Google Play Store does not allow these apps on their platform for download, thus people who want to play them must download them from their websites. To attract people, these apps sponsor sports leagues,[1][2] advertise through cricket players, get endorsements from film actors, and run ads with various betting websites.

Various apps advertise users can earn lakhs and crores of rupees on their app. The Government of India does not regulate these apps. The Play Store considers these apps to be gambling apps, which violate Google's anti-gambling policy, leading to both Mobile Premier League and Dream 11 being banned from the Play Store. In September 2022, Google Play allowed some gambling and casino apps to be downloaded.[3] In October 2021, Karnataka banned fantasy gaming apps, but in February 2022, the Karnataka High Court lifted it.[4] In October 2022, Tamil Nadu also banned them. According to the judge that made the ruling, "These apps have ruined [sic] many families, by indulging people into gambling."Telangana, Assam, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Nagaland have a complete ban on these type of online games. As per FIFS, their member companies do not allow people below 18 to play on their platforms. These apps use KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines as per FIFS. But, The Times of India found this to be false; many apps only ask KYC when user withdraw money and age verification is done by user which can be false.[5]

According to a 2022 report of NITI Aayog, fantasy sports is estimated to attract 10,000 crore rupees foreign direct investment in India in the next few years. As per Deloitte's report in same year, the Indian fantasy sport industry is worth 34,000 crore and it has 13 crore users. In addition to cricket, these apps allow the creation of teams in other sports which are not as popular as cricket, such as field hockey, association football, and kabaddi. Since performance in fantasy sports requires one to be relatively well-versed in the nuances of the sport in question, the addition of hockey, kabaddi, football, and other sports in OFSPs increases the interest and consumption of these sports.[6]

Advertising guidelines

These fantasy gaming apps claim to award real money to users if they win, but do not also clearly communicate via ads that you could lose money, potential suffering financial losses. In November 2020, Information and broadcasting ministry of India's Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) created some guidelines for 'fantasy gaming apps' doing business in India, such as:

  • No fantasy app permits under 18 persons to play the game. In addition, they can not suggest that it is suitable for under 18
  • Every fantasy gaming app, which involve transactions of real money should showcase a disclaimer alongside any advertisement and occupy 20% of the ad's space. If it is an audio ad, it should clearly state this in normal talking speed. The ad should carry the following disclaimer:

“This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk.”

  • Ads should not promote online gaming for real money winnings as an income opportunity or an employment option
  • No advertisements should suggest that anyone who plays the game is more comparatively successful than someone who doesn't

Guidelines Ref - [7]

In 2020, the Information and Broadcasting ministry said that it has concerns that such ads could be misleading to the audience, and are not in accordance with the stringent rules and regulations of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 and the Cable Television Act of 1995.[8]

Criticism

In 2019, a person claimed in an article published by Outlook that he downloaded Dream11 when he saw an ad on social media and in just 2 games lost 24,000 and 26,000 rupees respectively. He expressed that activities offered on Dream 11 were not based on skills but chance.[9]

Fantasy gaming platforms are notorious for sending advertisements in the form of spam messages to the people, asking them download the app with the promise of a signing bonus. In November 2022, community social media platform LocalCircles conducted a survey, which received 33,000 responses, in the survey many tagged 'fantasy sports' as online gambling, and 91% believe that the spam message advertisements should be made illegal. The survey notes that the owners of fantasy gaming platforms claim their game is a game of skill, but most of the respondents believe that it is a game of chance, and thus earnings are random. Nearly two out of three respondents said online fantasy sports were gambling.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dream11 is new IPL 2020 title sponsor with winning bid of Rs 222 crore". www.timesofindia.com.
  2. ↑ "Mpl sports". www.mpl.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  3. ↑ Bhargava, Yuthika (2022-09-08). "Google plans pilot programme on 'gambling' apps". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ↑ "Karnataka HC Takes Down Online Gambling Law; Big Relief for MPL, Dream11 And Other Fantasy Games". News18. 2022-02-14. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  5. ↑ "How fantasy sports apps are fuelling gambling addiction". www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  6. ↑ "Fantasy Sports Industry Has Got an IPL Boost but It Needs a Coherent Policy Going Forward". www.news18.com.
  7. ↑ Sandhu, Veenu; Munjal, Dhruv (2020-11-24). "Ctrl-Alt-Del: Advertising council to misleading online gaming ads". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  8. ↑ "Run Disclaimer With Fantasy Sports Advertisements: I&B Ministry to Media". www.news18.com. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  9. ↑ Web desk, Outlook (14 May 2019). "Dream11: 'Skill? Rubbish. It's Sophisticated Gambling', Says A Loser". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Most Indians tag fantasy sports as online gambling, 91% seek ban on SMS publicity: Survey". www.moneycontrol.com.
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