A special leave petition in the Supreme Court filed last week has challenged a Rajasthan High Court order that upheld the legality of Dream11 and declared that Rajasthan government was not violating any laws by allowing the company to operate. The petitioner's counsel has confirmed the development, and a hearing will likely take place soon. This was first reported by Outlook. The petition in the Rajasthan High Court had said that Dream11 amounts to gambling and asked for directions that Dream11's operations be stopped. The case was dismissed on the following grounds: The Punjab & Haryana High Court had upheld that Dream11 reasoned that games of "mere skill" do not fall within gambling and betting, and that success in Dream11 comes from a "user's superior knowledge, judgment, and attention". It dismissed the petition. The Supreme Court also struck down an appeal to this judgment. The Bombay High Court, in a criminal PIL, had upheld Dream11's legality in April 2019. The court had repeated that success in Dream 11 "depends upon user's exercise of skill based on superior knowledge, judgment and attention" and that winning or losing does not depend on a real world game. "It is undoubtedly a game of skill andnot a game of chance," the court had said. The Supreme had also struck down a challenge to this judgment. The petitioner, financial consultant Avinash Mehrotra, now wants the petition to be examined in depth, and seeks clarity on regulations governing fantasy sports. Mehrotra has previously challenged online gambling…
