AIGF, WinZO Seek Intervention In Dream11-Backed Rario’s Plea Against Striker In Delhi HC

Gaming industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and online gaming platform WinZO have reportedly filed a petition in Delhi High Court (HC) to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Dream 11-backed Rario against Web3 fantasy platform Striker.

Rario filed a plea against Striker in the Delhi HC last week seeking to block the latter from using art images. Rario’s petition was also joined by Indian cricketers including Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, and Shivam Malik, news agency IANS reported.

Striker collaborates with independent artists who produce original works of art inspired by cricket. The platform also offers a feature called ‘Player Cards’ that features art from independent artists and can be traded within the Striker platform.

According to the AIGF, the case has wide ranging ramifications across the gaming industry. It said that not being able to use specific identifiers for players would have a drastic impact on fantasy sports platforms and can impact growth of smaller companies.

Meanwhile, Winzo has sought an intervention in the suit as it is of the view that Rario may use any order from the court to put clamps on other platforms and competitors in the industry.

Founded in 2021 by Sunny Bhanot and Ankit Wadhwa, Rario is a licensed digital collectibles platform. It allows cricket fans to collect as well as trade cricket non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Last year, Rario bagged a funding of $120 Mn in a round led by Dream Capital, the corporate venture capital and M&A arm of unicorn Dream Sports. Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has also invested in the NFT platform.

Meanwhile, Striker is reportedly backed by gaming unicorn Mobile Premier League (MPL). The Web3 fantasy platform was started by two employees of MPL – Krishna Mohan Vedula and Nitesh Jain.

According to a report by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), in collaboration with Deloitte, India’s fantasy sports market is projected to reach a size of INR 1,65,000 Cr by FY25 from INR 34,600 Cr in FY21, expanding at a CAGR of 38%.

India was the world’s biggest fantasy sports market with a user base of over 13 Cr, as of 2022.

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