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The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), a self-regulatory industry body, has announced the appointment of Joy Bhattacharjya as its director general. In this role, he will oversee the functioning of the body and work with policymakers and industry stakeholders alike. Bhattacharjya is the CEO of the Prime Volleyball League and is a cricket analyst.
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), earlier known as the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming IFSG, was established to protect consumer interest and create standardised best practices in the Fantasy Sports industry.
He was also the project director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. In his earlier roles, he has held the position of the team director for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and head of programming for History and National Geographic channels for South Asia. He was the first Indian head of production at ESPN Star Sports.
Bimal Julka, chairman of FIFS, said, “We are happy to have Bhattacharjya join FIFS as the director-general. FIFS will benefit from his sports expertise and knowledge of fantasy sports."
Bhattacharjya added, “I am happy to be a part of the next stage of development of fantasy sports in the country. It’s a homecoming for me in a way, from launching the Super Selector in 2000, to now leading FIFS."
The federation is a Section 8 company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 for the purpose of self-regulation and promotion of best practices in online fantasy sports services and contests offered in India.
According to Technavio, the global fantasy sports market size is expected to increase by $6.11 billion between 2021 and 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 6.51% during the forecast period.
The growth of the market will be driven by the launch of various apps for fantasy sports. The increasing availability of low-cost smartphones in developing countries such as China, India, and Mexico has fostered the growth of the global mobile gaming industry.