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IFSG is now Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports

IFSG is now Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports
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By

Sarah Waris

Published: 5 Feb 2020 9:28 AM GMT

The Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) has renamed itself and is now being called the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS). The body had originally been named FIFS when it was included as a Section 8 Company way back in 2013, and the move of renaming itself twice and going back to their original name shows how the body is eager to focus only on fantasy sports.

Instead of concentrating on all skill-based games like casual sports games and esports along with fantasy, the FIFS is now eager to pay attention only towards the latter, with the federation also believing that fantasy has a huge market in India currently.

John Loffhagen, Chairman, FIFS said, “In the last two years, we have seen exponential growth in the Fantasy Sports industry. From 5 million users and 25 operators in 2017, the fantasy sports industry has now grown to 140+ operators with 80 million+ users. This rapid growth is a testament to the potential of fantasy sports in India. The name change from IFSG to FIFS is a result of our recognition of this disruptive and emerging sector and its need for self-regulation to sustain growth. We look forward to working with the operators and stakeholders in creating and maintaining high industry standards.”

The organization currently has 33 members, along with gaming platform Dream11. They have managed to conduct two conferences on fantasy sports - GamePlan in 2018 and 2019, and are looking to launch the "Stars of Tomorrow" initiative, an athlete support program in collaboration with GoSports Foundation and Dream11. The FIFS has also created a lot of awareness about fantasy sports and launched the first ever fantasy sports charter last year.

To ensure that they stay clear of any legal hassles, the FIFS has also appointed Ombudsman—Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri (Retd), and four strategic advisors — Professor Ratnakar Shetty, former BCCI Chief Administrative Officer; Amrit Mathur, former Secretary Sports Authority of India; Dilip Dixit, former Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax; and AN Roy, retired Director General Police of Maharashtra.

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