Gaming Law Review

Fantasy Sports has found its place amongst gamers in India. Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), India estimates that the fantasy sports industry has the potential to attract Foreign Direct Investment of more than Indian Rupee (INR) 100 billion over the next few years and generate 1.5 billion online transactions by 2023. A large number of sports fans, an ever-growing surge in demand for gaming, and the infrastructure to provide the same make India a global giant in fantasy sports. However, there is vast complexity regarding the legality of fantasy sports in India, which could prove to be a considerable impediment in developing the fantasy sports industry in India. The complexity is due to overlapping legislation, wrongful classification of gaming as gambling, and an absence of a regulator in the gaming industry. Innovation and novelty in gaming are effected by the judiciary and legislature's constant stall in matters relating to fantasy sports. The article analyses 1) the importance of fantasy sports industry in India, 2) the legal framework governing fantasy sports in India, 3) judicial pronouncements by various courts to come out with effective solutions and the way forward for the industry. The author has used a doctrinal method of study and has relied on case laws, articles, policy documents, reports, and opinions of the experts in the industry to suggest a way forward for the industry. The author concludes that a single regulator in the field of fantasy sports should be established at the central level in India who will actively monitor the industry and would settle the existing debates relating to the legality of fantasy sports in India.

The rapid expansion of sports betting in the United States has created a host of novel challenges for courts as they grapple with emerging technologies and unfamiliar laws. The new legal frontier has already run headlong into provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Passed in 1988, IGRA was meant to “provide a statutory basis for the operation of gaming by Indian tribes as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.” 25 U.S.C. § 2702(1). The Seminole Tribe of Florida entered into a gaming compact with the state pursuant to IGRA in August of 2021. This compact reflected a successful negotiation approved by three separate governments. By November of that year, a court ruled that the mobile sports wagering provisions of the compact violated federal law and invalidated the compact in its entirety. Despite the immense economic impact, the decision had on the Seminole Tribe, the court denied them the opportunity to be a party to the litigation. I argue that the government's inadequate defense of the compact and the court's decision to exclude the tribe from the proceedings undermined both fundamental principles of federal Indian law and IGRA's policy goals.

Sportsbook operators endured the dog days of summer just fine when it came to beating the betting public, building on the momentum created in July by recording one of the highest national holds in the post-PASPA era in August.