Online gaming clampdown: Dream-11 promoters booked under amended Karnataka Police Act

Bengaluru: Following the recent passage of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, the crackdown on online gaming has begun in the state. On Friday, the founders and directors of the popular gaming app ‘Dream-11’, Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain, were booked under the provisions of the newly amended Karnataka Police Act, 1963.

According to reports, the police initiated actions based on a complaint filed by a person named Manjunath, a resident of Nagarbhavi. An FIR has been registered in Annapoorneshwarinagar police station in Bengaluru.

The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, which was passed during the monsoon session of the Karnataka Assembly this year, bans all formats of online games involving wagering, betting, and gambling of all nature and forms in the state. It prohibits the online games of chance and skill where money is risked. The act makes online gaming a non-bailable offense with a fine of Rs one lakh and imprisonment of up to three years.

In the backdrop of the legislation, Mobile Premier League and Paytm First Games had curtailed their operations in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the online gaming industry is planning to drag the issue to courts as they did in the case of similar legislation in Tamil Nadu. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had warned the government that the amended law would dent Karnataka’s image as a start-up hub. It further said that offshore gamblers will flourish and result in a huge loss of revenue to the state exchequer.

(With inputs from IANS)