India tour of Australia: After a brief break from fantasy league, the Dream11 and other fantasy players will be eyeing to build their playing XI for the upcoming India vs Australia first ODI on November 27. The search for the best combination would once again begin trending ahead of each game. However, there might be some players who might not be able to enjoy fantasy sport at all. Some state governments in India have banned fantasy sport to stop online betting. This has put the fantasy players and companies in a difficult situation. They are not sure if they will have been exempted from the ban or not.
Tamil Nadu on Friday had become the third state in the South to ban online games and gambling after the state’s governor promulgated and ordinance to restrict such games from public to prevent them from the “evils of online gaming”. Before it, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had banned fantasy gaming.
On the face of it, this comes as bad news for Dream11 and other fantasy players. Dream11 is arguably the biggest fantasy cricket operator in the country. They were the title sponsors of IPL earlier this year, and at least six of the eight teams wore their logo.
India tour of Australia: But amid this ban, the big question doing the rounds, can you play FANTASY in these states ?
In the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana the ban status is completely clear – Fantasy Gaming is not allowed in these states.
But the status of Fantasy in the state of Tamil Nadu is still ambiguous. According to the reports coming in from various quarters, Fantasy Gaming may not come under the purview of passed ordinance in the state.
Moreover, fantasy cricket platforms have claimed that they have not yet received any notice from the authorities so far. “We have not received any guidelines from the government. So, for now our operations are still on in the state,” an official of a reputed fantasy platform told InsideSport.
No one has received the Ordinance Copy as yet – till that happens the status of Fantasy Gaming in the status will stay in the grey area.
So can fantasy fans continue playing the Fantasy in Tamil Nadu?
As per InsideSport understanding and reports they can. In Tamil Nadu fantasy players can enjoy the India tour of Australia series while playing fantasy league. The Madras High Court in early December is likely to hear the petition next month. If they rule fantasy sports to be a game of chance, then services will be stopped.