(Fantasy Sports News) The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) concluded its fourth edition of GamePlan yesterday where we witnessed the launch of ‘Online Fantasy Sports: Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Sports Development’ an industry report by Deloitte and FIFS. One of the most notable keynotes was by Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT), Government of Telangana, who spoke about the present scenario around fantasy sports being “a bit muddled and complicated.” He spoke about the state government bringing new norms to make it a role model for other states.

Speaking about the future of OFS, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan 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.” He also added, “I can assure you that we will see a piece of regulation where not only self-regulation, but development will be encouraged. We need to remain patient with what comes up from Telangana. I am very confident that this will be some kind of a role model for all other states also.”

Mr. 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, kabaddi, etc. 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.” He further added, “We want to build a system of continuous and constructive engagement with all the state governments, which is an ongoing dynamic exercise. We’ve been receiving tremendous support from them to be able to execute this.” 

The evolving legal landscape of Online Fantasy Sports saw a focused discussion at the last session of the event revolving around the Supreme Court’s judgement, reaffirming the legality of the fantasy sports format as offered by Dream11 basis the FIFS Charter, and upheld the judgement passed by Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court. This judgement has played an instrumental role in legitimizing the industry and reducing ambiguity. When the Public Gambling Act of 1867 was adopted by most states, it was an era of virtually no technology and Mr. Gopal Jain, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India has asked the Central government to work with the State governments to allow the industry to grow and reduce ambiguity.

Also read: Fourth edition of GamePlan announced by FIFS – India’s only Annual Fantasy Sports Conference