Not all seems to be well with Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) – an industry which last week lost three of its platinum members – MPL, MyTeam11 and My11Circle. It is believed that the three fantasy gaming companies left the non-profit self regulatory body due to multiple reasons, as per sources close to the development, who spoke to BrandWagon Online, on the condition of anonymity. It is understood that the initial dissent started with FIFS allowing other members to try different formats of fantasy gaming. This is in contradiction to the Supreme Court’s order of declaring fantasy sports as a skill based game. So far, the industry has seen the use of only one format. Interestingly, the format is the same as the one used by Dream11 and others. Therefore, any company venturing into other formats of fantasy sports will be seen conducting business outside of the court’s order. FIFS was founded in 2017 by Dream11.
For instance, the standard practice of fantasy gaming (how Dream11 also works) is that users have to make a team before the game starts. However, platforms are trying new formats such as allowing users to join the game in the second innings, users can play over-wise contest (six over or 10 over) and not the whole game, trump player along with captain and vice captain, users can have veto power of selecting only five players rather than 11, among others.
Moreover, sources claim that the governance of FIFS was biased towards the founding member. Last year, FIFS asked other gaming companies to join the federation stating that the body will make substantial changes with respect to formats and workings of the space. However, this was never really implemented. “There was no distinction between the FIFS body and the founding member,” an industry stakeholder, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed.
Interestingly, these claims have been denied by the three companies. “I was on the board of FIFS and I wanted to focus on my company MyTeam11. This is the reason why MyTeam11 left the FIFS,” Vinit Godara, CEO, MyTeam11, told BrandWagon Online. This is not the first time companies have left FIFS. Gameskraft’s fantasy sports app- Gamezy, Baazi Games and PlayerzPot, among others have left the body while remaining members of other non-profit regulatory bodies.
Furthermore, in a joint statement issued by Dream11, MPL and Games24x7– parent company of My11Circle– the three stated that there is no disagreement between them. “As the online gaming industry matures, there are active discussions amongst various members to have a common platform/association that is representative of the entire industry, and can articulate the views and concerns of this sunrise sector. In this context prominent online gaming operators are contemplating the constitution of a single industry wide entity that can represent the sector. There is no dissension in any way between Games24x7, MPL and Dream11. On the contrary, we are all undertaking a collaborative exercise to create a unified gaming association, and all our actions are towards that goal,” Games24x7, MPL and Dream11, stated.
It is to be noted that Games24x7 and MPL are already members of other regulatory bodies. While Games24x7 is a part of E-Gaming Federation (EGF), MPL is a part of both EGF and All India Gaming Federation (AIGF). When contacted, both the industry bodies refused to comment.
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