I think we all are familiar with the IPL(Indian Premier League), the biggest franchise cricket league in the world. Nobody has thought that it will achieve such gigantic heights even Lalit Modi, founder, first chairman and league commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The brand value of IPL 2025 reached $12 billion from a $2 billion valuation in 2009.
The IPL has transformed itself into a haven for gambling and hence questioning the integrity of the sport beyond glamour.
Contradictions in legality: While gambling is illegal, certain forms like casino betting in Goa and horse racing are permitted. Let’s understand what it is.
The Rise of the IPL: A Financial Juggernaut
From the date of its inception, the IPL converted cricket into a profitable enterprise. The league’s success is reflected in the increasing brand values of its franchises:
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK): $122 million
- Mumbai Indians (MI): $119 million
- Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): $117 million
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): $109 million
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): $85 million
- Rajasthan Royals (RR): $81 million
- Delhi Capitals (DC): $80 million
- Gujarat Titans (GT): $69 million
- Punjab Kings (PBKS): $68 million
- Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG): $60 million
It is mostly sponsorship contracts, broadcasting rights, and merchandise sales which flows into making this financial boom for the IPL. Rendering it among the highest-grossing cricket leagues in the world.
Also Read: IPL 2025 Schedule, Matches, Date, Point Table and Ticket
Now, while defining for the world the almost perfect combo of entertainment and sportsmanship, the IPL has transformed itself into a haven for gambling and hence questioning the integrity of the sport beyond glamour.
Understanding Games of Skill vs Chance in Indian Law
Undoubtedly, the most momentous point of differentiation in Indian gambling law is the distinction between a game of skill and a game of chance. With such distinction, one can determine either legality or illegality, especially in the case of wagering or betting.
What is a Game of Skill?
•A game in which predominates achievement by mental ability, training, knowledge, strategy, or experience.
Examples: Chess, Rummy, certain fantasy sports, and quizzes.
•Legally covered under Indian law-even when money is involved-as it rewards skill against luck.
What is a Game of Chance?
•A game in which a person plays with the luck or chance factor for outcome, but little human contribution occurs in that event.
Examples: Slot machines, roulette, lottery, and dice games.
•It is regarded as gambling, and it has been illegal except when the state has specifically legalized it under law.
Key Legal Principle: “Predominance Test”
The “predominance test” determines whether skill or chance predominates in determining the outcome:
•If skill > chance → It’s a game of skill → Legal
•If chance > skill → It’s a game of chance → Illegal (unless licensed)
Understanding the Legal Landscape of Betting and Fantasy Sports in India
Emergence of Online Gaming and Fantasy Sports
While the first few years of the new millennium were busy with the proliferation of online gaming, there was complete silence on betting money in most parts of the world.
In 2001, ESPN and Star Sports launched a fantasy app called Super Selector; however, due to low internet penetration and mobile usage, it could not take off.
Entry of Harsh Jain
In 2007, Harsh Jain came back to India from the US, where he had seen the massive popularity of fantasy football (NFL and NBA leagues).
While he actually saw a gap in the Indian market, he did foresee a fantasy sports platform created especially for Indian users, around cricket. This vision eventually led to the creation of Dream11, India’s first fantasy sports unicorn.
Evolution of Fantasy Apps
Initially, fantasy apps were set up on a subscription basis. They announced a free premium feature with cash prizes starting in 2012.
How Fantasy Apps Work: The Core Mechanism
At their core, fantasy sports apps are build on simple yet strategic concept:
1. Create Your Team:
Prior to a live match starting, users assemble a virtual team of real-life players (e.g., cricketers, footballers).
2. Earn Points:
On live match days, players earn or lose points depending on their real-life performance (runs, wickets, goals, etc.).
3. Climb the Leaderboard:
The better your players perform according to you, the better your team’s ranking against others in the contest.
4. Win Prizes:
Those scoring the highest in paid contests win cash prizes, ranging from a few rupees to lakhs.
The Fantasy Sports Boom
The IPL and additional T20 leagues sustained engagement with matches nearly every single day.
It allowed a person to take contests in mere seconds on a mobile-first underneath.
By the late 2010s, fantasy apps became mainstream and were integrated into the day-to-day lives of Indian sports fans.
Financial Model Behind Fantasy Apps
Users pay entry fees into different rooms within the app; winnings are calculated after deducting GST (28%) and platform cuts (15%-30%).
Let’s understand it by making of poll from 5 players with ₹100 as platform fee
Sample Breakdown: ₹500 Prize Pool from 5 Players
Let’s say five users each pay ₹100 to join a contest, forming a total pool of ₹500.
Here’s how it might break down:
GST (28%): ₹140
App owner (20%): ₹72
Amount Left: ₹288 , this is the winner ‘s prize but if he wins it he has to give TDS(30%).It’s Result of this Section 115BBJ and 194BA has introduced this to the user’s winning prize.
30% TDS= ₹86.4
Net prize pool distributed to winners: ₹201.6
If platform fee get deducted winner earned only ₹101.6
So this ₹500 one game gives:-
Winner profit= ₹101.6
App profit=₹72
Govt profit=₹226.4
So at last, the government wins without playing. The greatest profit belongs to the government, and this is not a tiny amount. This goes up in thousands of crores. As per a Hindustan Times report, these apps make around 1500 crore rupees paid by people for each international match of Indian cricket. And combined with domestic and international tournament matches, the number shot up to 10 lakh crores.
Economic Impact of Fantasy Sports
Fantasy sports rake in the millions for the central government, in addition to revenue earned through GST and TDS. There are very high estimates of amounts wagered during international matches.
In 2024 alone, revenues for fantasy apps reached ₹9100 crores, and even for 2027, revenues are expected to grow up to ₹25,240 crores.
The Illusion of Winning in Fantasy Sports
The Financial Ecosystem of Fantasy Sports
The entire financial network of fantasy sports feeds the BCCI, state governments, and the central government along with cricketers and celebrities. This brings the interesting question: Where does this money come from? Ultimately, it is from the efforts of people and their families.
The Reality of Winning Odds
Most of the people who play fantasy apps lose money in the end. Fantasy apps are selling dreams to people, while companies like Byju’s are struggling financially.
Statistically, the chance of winning on these platforms is pretty low, around 0.00000667% for Mega events. Users buy several teams to improve their chances, however they incur more losses.
Understanding Team Combinations
In this app, one has to form a team of 11 selected from 22 players. So, mathematically methods of selecting players for a team are 705432, and 110 more combinations are available in selecting a captain and vice-captain. If all these factors are taken into consideration, there exist many more than 77 million combinations.
Addiction and Behavioral Impact
While fantasy apps may seem fair, they divert attention from the real winning odds. Many gamers, despite suffering losses, continue in their playing behavior because of psychological concepts like addiction.
Most players justify their participation as harmless entertainment but risk extreme loss by pouring time and finances chasing the games.
The Cycle of Losses
Players usually chase the losses they have incurred by investing their money into these platforms, further creating a vicious cycle for them to continue gambling.
Even mentally tough individuals suffer under this addiction; they drown in mountains of debt, with no treatment avenues open to them.
Youth Involvement and Marketing Strategies
Young users mostly abuse access over loopholes like using their parents’ IDs, which again sends alarming signals about the kind of regulation these platforms might have. Referral systems further fuel this addiction among the peers.
Celebrity endorsement comes as an answer to drawing users in-groups; people trust familiar faces rather than unknown app creators, resulting in a significantly high user acquisition rate for fantasy sports applications.
Addiction and Mental Health Concerns
Justice N. Kirubakaran underscored the role of celebrities endorsing such apps whose promises can make the average person be subject to gambling addiction.
According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), published by the American Psychiatric Association, online gaming addictions have been categorized in the same manner as those connected with substances, indicating growing concern regarding the increased prevalence of mental health issues caused by gambling.
Research has shown that excessive gambling decreases impulse control in the mind, making the individual open to manipulation by gambling-related entities
The Reality of Fantasy Sports and Gambling
The Misconception of Skill in Fantasy Sports
Even the cricketers who have the most skill like Kapil Dev or Sunil Gavaskar, if they do participate in these games, make no assurances of wins to their teams.
In fact, to all instances, if fantasy sports were real games of skill, those who have done very well as cricketers would have stood a greater chance of winning every time and thus become millionaires, because such cricketers are not always the eventual victors in random contests.
A specific instance refers to Sitamani, who won over a crore without much previous knowledge of cricket, which shows luck does really play a significant role over skill in these apps.
Legal and Social Implications
Several states banned fantasy sports apps due to negative social impacts observed by October 2022, including addiction and financial ruin for many families.
Some states resorted to geo-blocking of the apps in their jurisdictions; however, addicted users could manage to break out of the restrictions imposed.
Regulation Challenges
In view that online gambling apps are legal in India, they still face a scenario of lack of regulatory governance; rather, they are self-regulated through associations such as the FIFS.
Such a lack of regulation has attracted unwanted elements that in the guise of fantasy sports set up their illegal activities, thus causing more social harm.
The Timeless Warning: Gambling is a Path to Destruction
Gambling has always remained a perilous temptation that may destroy lives, relationships, and values. The Mahabharata itself serves as a portentous reminder of this truth. The dice game that induced Yudhishthira to stake his kingdom, his brothers, and even Draupadi was not simply a moment of personal folly but a spark that set off a tremendous war and devastated an entire dynasty. Such gambling, which together with greed and ego, darkened judgment, eroded dharma, and unleashed results that could never be cured.
“KAYA TERI HAI NHI, MAYA KHA SE HOYE”
Last but not least kabir ji said, in one of his doha:
“Kabir, kaya teri hai nahi, maya kahan se hoye
Guru charno mein dhyan rakho, in dono ko khoye.”
Kabir Saheb ji reminds us that neither this body nor the material wealth (maya) truly belong to us-they are passing illusions. Gambling thrives on this very illusion: the belief that one can control fate, that money can be gained or earned without honest effort. Its result is destruction-all wealth and peace and relations.
Let us leave behind the path of maya and addiction, and walk toward a life rooted in truth, restraint, and inner peace. The main purpose of human life is to attain salvation by the way of “KARMYOG” as mentioned in Srimad Bhagwad Gita. The only Saint who is giving that true spiritual knowledge according to holy scriptures is Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj.
FAQs about IPL gambling
1. Why is IPL considered a financial juggernaut?
Ans.The IPL is considered a financial juggernaut due to massive revenue from sponsorships, broadcasting rights, and merchandise sales, with its brand value rising from $2 billion in 2009 to $12 billion in 2025.
2. What legal principle helps determine whether a game is skill-based or gambling in India?
Ans.The “Predominance Test” is used, where if skill outweighs chance, the game is legal; if chance outweighs skill, it is considered gambling and illegal unless specifically regulated.
3. Why is fantasy cricket often considered legal despite involving money?
Ans.Fantasy cricket is deemed legal because it’s categorized as a “game of skill,” where success depends on users’ strategic selection and performance prediction, not just luck.
4. How do states in India differ in their gambling laws?
Ans.Gambling laws vary by state; some like Goa and Sikkim legalize certain forms like casinos, while others like Bihar retain the conservative Public Gambling Act of 1867, resulting in a patchwork of regulations.
5. What are the social consequences of fantasy sports and gambling apps?
Ans.These platforms can lead to addiction, financial losses, psychological harm, and in extreme cases, even suicides especially among the youth, due to misleading marketing and lack of regulation.
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