New Delhi, October 04, 2022: Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) has onboarded Spice Fantasy, an up-and-coming fantasy sports platform, as its member in the Start-up category.
Spice Fantasy, by GiaTech Solutions Pvt. Ltd, offers fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi and more sports. The Indian fantasy sports industry is growing at a CAGR rate of 32% and by the end of 2024, it can be expected to be worth USD 3.7 billion. India has emerged to be the biggest fantasy sports market in the world with a user base of over 15 crore.
Spice Fantasy’s guiding principles are Good faith, Fair Dealing and Confidentiality. GiaTech Solutions Pvt. Limited is an off-shoot of Mobileoid2 Technologies, which has clients like Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Etisalat, PWC and IIT Delhi. With their technology expertise, GiaTech Solutions have brought in payment solution providers for more secure exchanges.
Gourav Srivastava, Founder and Director, GiaTech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. said,“Fantasy sports has seen exponential growth in the last few years and we are delighted to be entering a market that contributes to the development of the sports ecosystem of the country. We are looking forward to surging ahead with the support of FIFS.”
“I welcome Spice Fantasy to the FIFS family and look forward to their success in the upcoming sporting season. At FIFS, we are focussed on the principles of self-regulation and working with the industry operators to facilitate robust development and significant contribution to India’s economic growth,” said FIFS Director-General Joy Bhattacharjya.
As a member, Spice Fantasy will adhere to the FIFS charter that lays down the self-regulatory practices for running a fantasy sports platform. The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) recently revised and strengthened its charter in order to promote innovation with responsible growth for the fantasy sports industry.
The new charter lays emphasis on the role of Fantasy Sports Regulatory Authority (FSRA), an independent self-regulatory body committed to promoting standardised best practices in fantasy sports. FSRA comprises three eminent former judges. Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mudgal, former Chief Justice, Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court and Justice (Retd.) G.S. Sistani, former Judge, Hon’ble Delhi High Court as panel members of Fantasy Sports Regulatory Authority (FSRA). Eminent jurist, Justice (Retd.) A.K. Sikri, former Judge, Hon’ble Supreme Court of India is the Chairman of the FSRA.
In order to effectively self-regulate, FIFS has laid down a detailed format for paid contests by all approved member FSPs, which has to reflect dominance of skill among the users. These contests must also comply with the relevant laws of the land, including it being available to only users above 18 years of age.
According to the format, contests have to be based only around real-world matches, players and teams, which are officially sanctioned by international or national bodies, no changes must be allowed post the commencement of matches, team selections must be manual and platforms cannot participate against the users.
FIFS was formed in 2017 and runs as India’s first and only dedicated Fantasy Sports self-regulatory industry body established to protect consumer interest and create standardized best practices in the FS industry according to the reports published in news18.com.
FIFS aims to create a thriving ecosystem for FS users and operators by creating guidelines for a common set of practices, setting standards of operation, and creating a regulatory framework to protect the FS user and operator interests. FIFS works with key industry stakeholders and liaisons with policymakers to create a robust governance structure to support the sustained growth of the industry.
