Fantasy sports in India has grown rapidly, driven by digital infrastructure and sports leagues, but faces regulatory challenges and legal uncertainty.
Authors
Animesh Anand Bordoloi, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Sachin Kumar, Professor, Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Summary
The Fantasy Sports (hereinafter referred to as, ‘FS’) industry in India has witnessed significant growth over the last decade, making it a lucrative market for investors and users alike. While FS in India was first introduced around 2001 through the launch of ESPN Star Sports’ ‘Super Selector fantasy game’, it was around 2015 that the sector started to witness stupendous growth. Such growth, among many others, can be attributed to three major factors: growth in India’s digital infrastructure, which made the internet accessible and cheap; the mushrooming of several sports leagues in India, where the Indian Premier League (IPL) played a very significant role; and the increasing penetration of online payment gateways (KPMG India [2019], The Evolving Landscape of Sports Gaming in India. The participants engage in the formation of virtual teams consisting of real-life athletes, with the performance of these athletes in real sports having a direct influence on the success of the fantasy team.
The legal uncertainty and regulatory vacuum only further add to this criticism. In the following sections, we will briefly look into the history of FS in India and its existing legal framework before delving deep into the underlying sociology and societal issues that the sector produces before the regulators. This chapter will also comparatively look into whether it is prudent to use soft regulation through the centre and state for better control over the concern.
Published in: Online Gaming in India: Technology, Policy, and Challenges
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