Gaming Report: Mohali Police Investigating Dream11`s Connection With Fake UVA T20 League & More

Leading fantasy gaming firm Dream11 has got itself embroiled in investigations related to a fake Uva T20 League. The league was supposed to be hosting cricket matches in Sri Lanka, but they were later found to have been played at a local ground near Mohali, Punjab. The league itself was discovered to be fake. All the player kits had the Dream11 branding, while the company’s subsidiary FanCode live-streamed some of the earlier matches. The BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has asked police to investigate both Dream11 and FanCode`s association with the fake league.

In another development coming in from Punjab, the state government has finally announced that it will be refunding all the money collected for the Punjab State Baisakhi Bumper-2020 lottery that was canceled in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Global Gaming Awards (GGA) Las Vegas 2020 has finalized its shortlist of nominations for the prestigious awards to be given away in a ceremony in October.

Meanwhile, a day after GVC and MGM announced a $250 Million investment in the online gambling operator BetMGM, the latter has struck a multi-year sports betting partnership with NFL’s Denver Broncos.

Dream11 to be Investigated For Possible Link With Fake UVA T20 League

India’s gaming behemoth and a BCCI sponsor for IPL, Dream11, has managed to land itself in a fresh controversy. According to media reports, the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the BCCI has requested Mohali police to investigate Dream11, and it’s subsidiary FanCode’s association with the fake Uva T20 League.

Uva is a province in Sri Lanka, and the Uva T20 League was touted as a premier league comprising of four teams. However, it was found that the matches instead of being hosted in Sri Lanka were actually played out at a local club ground in Sawara village near Mohali. While all the kits used in these fake matches had ‘Dream11’ on the back, Dream11’s subsidiary FanCode live-streamed some matched for the league.

An Indian Express report quotes ACU chief Ajit Singh Shekhawat as saying, “We are not saying they (Dream11) are involved, but as FanCode is involved, we need to investigate how the match was given, who bought the proposal to cover it. There could be some document which could be fake as the Sri Lankan board has denied issuing any sanction to that tournament. FanCode can be a guide to the investigation. So, we have asked police to ask them too.”

In a letter to the Mohali police, the ACU said that the kits may have been forged, or could be from a previous Dream11 tournament. The letter states, “With regard to FanCode, we would also question their involvement as it should not be easy to persuade them to stream a tournament like this.”

FanCode claimed to be an aggrieved party in the cases and even filed a formal complaint with the Mumbai Police on July 6. A FanCode spokesperson reportedly told the Indian Express, “We are an aggrieved party in this whole incident of Uva Premier League T20, as it has transpired that the documents submitted by the organisers during our due diligence process were forged/ fabricated. The organisers had provided us with a Letter of Sanction from Uva Province Cricket Association along with an email from the official email id of SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) that provided confirmation of the tournament,” adding that, “…We will be more than happy to provide information/ evidence/ documents to any and all investigating agencies working on the matter.”

Punjab Govt to Refund Money For Tickets Purchased For the Baisakhi Bumper Lottery

Back in April, the draw for the Punjab State Baisakhi Bumper-2020 lottery was called off, owing to the Coronavirus epidemic. Earlier this week, the Punjab government announced that the money would be refunded to everyone who had purchased the lottery tickets.

The government has clarified that the ticket buyers will get their refunds from concerned sellers, stockists, and post offices.

The draw was scheduled for April 17 but was canceled on April 12.

Last week, lottery dealers had charged that they were stuck with ₹2 Crores worth of tickets as the government was not refunding the tickets or exchanging them for the tickets for the upcoming Rakhi Bumper lottery draw.

The furor forced the government to take a decision on the same. The issue was discussed by the officials of the Punjab State Lotteries Department and the Northern India Lottery Association in a meeting.

After the meeting, Northern India Lottery Association’s President H K Chugh said, “if a person is facing harassment for getting a refund of ₹250, how can he/she expect that the prize would be provided to him with ease.”

The lotteries department has unveiled the Rakhi Bumper-2020, and the draw for the same will be held on August 20. The first prize winner of the bumper lottery is slated to win ₹1.50 Crores and will be declared out of the tickets sold to the public.

Final Nominations For Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas 2020 Shortlisted

The final shortlist for the Global Gaming Awards (GGA) Las Vegas 2020 has been prepared. The prestigious awards are to be presented to the leading companies of the global gaming sector in a ceremony to be held in Las Vegas on October 5.

Powered by Gambling Insider and Gaming America, in association with G2E, and independently adjudicated by KPMG, the awards comprise 12 categories. All shortlisted companies will be contacted this week while the full Shortlist magazine will be available in early September.

The winners will be decided by a panel of 100 jury members comprising leading representatives from the gambling industry, including top managers from the largest global companies.

This has been a difficult time for the entire industry, as the Coronavirus pandemic has created an extremely challenging set of circumstances.

This year, the GGA will acknowledge the best companies that have persevered and excelled under such demanding conditions.

IGT and Aristocrat are among the category sponsors unveiled for this year’s ceremony, while BetConstruct is the Lead Partner of the Awards.

BetMGM Strikes Partnership With NFL’s Denver Broncos

Online gambling operator BetMGM has become the third firm to broker a partnership with U.S.’s National Football League (NFL) team Denver Broncos.

BetMGM is the brand name of the RoarDigital joint venture between GVC Holdings and MGM Resorts. The news comes just a day after GVC and MGM announced that they would be investing $250 Million into BetMGM.

According to an announcement made by the Denver Broncos on Thursday, this new-found association with BetMGM is a “multi-year sports betting partnership.”

As part of this deal, BetMGM will not only create co-branding opportunities with the NFL team, but it also plans to develop a free-to-play mobile prediction game.

Further on, Roar Digital will be opening a BetMGM Lounge at Empower Field, where bettors can drink up while they receive live odds and betting assistance.

Matt Prevost, BetMGM’s CMO said, “This partnership with the Bronchos allows us to showcase not only a premier BetMGM sports betting and gaming platform, but also the world-class entertainment experiences delivered by MGM Resorts.”

The two other existing partners for Denver Broncos are FanDuel and U.K.’s Betfred.