TS to implement model rules in fantasy sports

Hyderabad ENTHUSED by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) flagship event GamePlan, the Telangana Governmenthas taken the lead to implement model regulations in online fantasy sports. The 4th edition of the flagship event concluded recently.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), Government of Telangana, said, "We are aware of the regulatory issues which are there in the world of fantasy sports. I know that there are court judgments, there are different orders, and the scenario is a bit muddied and complicated at this point in time. I admit that there has been a push back in Telangana in the past about some forms of games, particularly games of skill, fantasy sports, etc. that have to be encouraged. I have taken the responsibility to introduce a very simple and industry-friendly piece of regulation in place of what already exists. I have consulted everyone who is involved in this domain, including representatives from the FIFS."

The joint industry report by Deloitte and FIFS discussed views on the economic impact of online fantasy sports (OFS) in India and how it is fuelling sports growth through fan engagement.

The 4th edition of GamePlan witnessed three highly engaging panel discussions on economic impact of online fantasy sports in India; fantasy sports fuelling sports consumption and fan engagement and the evolving legal landscape of fantasy sports in India.

The event saw participation from eminent dignitaries from the industry such as Harsh Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, Dream11 and Dream Sports; Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO, MPL; Bhavin Pandya, Co-Founder and CEO, Games 24x7, Vinit Godara, Co-Founder and CEO, MyTeam11, Bhavit Sheth, COO and Co-Founder, Dream11 and Dream Sports; Joy Bhattacharjya, Sports Producer and VP, Baseline Ventures; Nikhil Vyas, Managing Partner and CEO, ITW Mediaworx; Siddharth Chury, AVP- Global Partnerships, NBA India.

Amrit Mathur, FIFS spokesperson (member of Fantasy Sports Regulatory Authority), said, "Fantasy sports have emerged strongly in the last few years, so much so that it has contributed to the growth of the overall sports ecosystem of our nation. OFS engages fans with real-life sports such as cricket, volleyball, football, basketball, and kabaddi by providing a platform to create their own virtual teams containing counterparts of real-life players from both the teams participating in an upcoming officially sanctioned match. This is the key distinguisher for Fantasy Sports from online gaming."

The last session of the event on the evolving legal landscape of OFS saw a focused discussion on the recent Supreme Court judgement that reaffirmed the legality of fantasy sports format, as offered by Dream11 basis the FIFS Charter, and upheld the judgement passed by Rajasthan High Court.