ASCI receives legal notice from MPL owner over whitepaper on opinion trading

Bengaluru-based Galactus Funware Technology, the parent company of Mobile Premier League (MPL), has issued a legal notice to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), seeking the immediate withdrawal of its recent whitepaper on opinion trading and demanding ₹50 crore in damages for alleged defamation and loss of goodwill, as reported by several media outlets.

The 11-page notice, dated 23 May and issued through law firm Trilegal, accuses ASCI of publishing a “biased and unsubstantiated” report titled Examining Opinion Trading in India. The company alleges that the whitepaper relied on “tampered” screenshots of MPL advertisements.

According to the notice, disclaimers in the original marketing creatives were deliberately omitted, and a still from an educational YouTube video, emphasising “Skill, Interest, Knowledge”—was edited in a way that falsely suggested financial risk, thus misrepresenting the nature of the platform’s real-money gaming model.

Galactus Funware further questioned ASCI’s jurisdiction to assess the legality or skill-based nature of opinion trading, asserting that such determinations are the remit of the courts. The company noted that several high court cases on the matter are ongoing and that the Supreme Court has stayed proceedings, thereby rendering ASCI’s conclusions “premature” and beyond its remit.

The notice calls on the self-regulatory body to remove the whitepaper from the public domain within three days, warning that failure to comply would result in civil and criminal proceedings, as well as additional compensation “for every day of continued publication”.

An ASCI spokesperson confirmed receipt of the notice but denied any misconduct, stating there was “absolutely no question of tampering” with the advertising material used in the study.

Opinion trading, a real-money gaming format in which users predict real-world outcomes, has faced growing regulatory scrutiny. In its May 2025 whitepaper, ASCI characterised such games as involving “elements of risk” akin to wagering, an assertion Galactus Funware has dismissed as “sensationalist” and damaging to its commercial reputation.