A taxi driver from Nagarabhavi has filed a complaint against an online gaming company and its founder-directors for allegedly running a hugely popular fantasy sports platform despite the recent ban. In his complaint, Manjunath, 42, said that the company is profiteering from people losing money while betting online.
Based on the complaint filed on Thursday, the Annapoorneshwari Nagar police registered a case against the founders and directors of the firm, charging them under Sections 79 and 80 (running, permitting or furnishing money for the purpose of gaming) of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963.
When asked why he was filing the complaint, Mr. Manjunath told the police that after reading media reports on the ban, he scanned Play Store and the Internet to see how many online gaming sites had shut down operations. He alleged that while many firms had blocked their apps so that they could not be used, there was an exception, Dream 11, a fantasy sports platform. It allowed players to create their fantasy teams in sports ranging from cricket to kabbadi based on a real-life matches to score maximum points and win cash prizes, he said in his complaint.
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An online search of Dream 11 took him to the official website. “Lots of players have already won big prizes on Dream11 and the company is hosting different kinds of cash contests, each with its own entry fee and prize money,” he alleged. The police, who registered an FIR, said they would issue a notice to the firm hosting Dream 11 as part of their probe.