The Director-General of The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), Joy Bhattacharjya, talked about the growth of fantasy sports in India in the upcoming years and the impact of the 5G network rollout in an exclusive Storyboard 18.

FIFS is a self-regulatory body that promotes fantasy sports with policymakers and industry stakeholders. Fantasy sports is the fastest-growing gaming industry, with over 14 crore users. The launch of different sports competitions, along with affordable mobile handsets, have allowed fantasy sports to grow even more.

In his interview, Joy said that the government’s focus on digitization has helped a lot in the industry’s growth, and clear guidelines to differentiate between the game of skill and chance should be made to improve this further. The exact definition can be achieved by working with industry experts.

When asked about the upcoming years for fantasy sports, Joy said that he believes with the rollout of 5G and Web 3.0, online gaming will no longer be just a hobby but will also become a professional career for people and growth in fantasy sports will also create more employment opportunities in different sectors like animation and VFX as well as attracting more FDIs.

The 5G network is in its final stages and is planned to release by the end of the year fully. Accessibility for the whole country will make a significant jump, and with that, more people will be able to access online gaming.

Fantasy sports also help people to improve their knowledge and understanding of the different sports. Joy also commented on different concerns with online gaming as they must balance industry growth and consumer protection.

He said that all members at FIFS are always trying to ensure best practices for consumers and the Fantasy Sports Regulatory Authority (FSRA), with its ex-Supreme court and High court judges, helps with that.