MUMBAI: The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the self-regulatory industry body for fantasy sports, has announced the appointment of former chief information commissioner Bimal Julka as its new chairman.
Julka is taking over from John Loffhagen, who served as the chairman of FIFS for over three years. Loffhagen will assume the role of a strategic advisor and support FIFS on collaborating with relevant international bodies in the industry.
In his new role, Julka will work closely with all the stakeholders to further strengthen the operating standards of the Indian fantasy sports industry.
With over four decades of service in the government at both state and national levels, Julka is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of the 1979 batch belonging to the Madhya Pradesh Cadre. He held the prestigious position of chief information commissioner, government of India, until September. Prior to that, Julka has held several senior positions in the ministry of defence, civil aviation, information and broadcasting, external affairs, finance, commerce and public relations in the Union government.
Anwar Shirpurwala, chief executive officer, FIFS, said: “We are very fortunate to have Bimal Julka join FIFS as the chairman. His impeccable reputation and principles of good governance precede him. Having such a senior dignitary, like Julka, representing fantasy sports will strengthen the industry’s credibility, and we are sure to witness new strides towards reformations and standardisation of the rapidly growing fantasy sports industry.”
“Fantasy sports is a new and disruptive industry that has great potential to strengthen and promote sports in India through meaningful fan engagement. While fantasy sports is seeing unprecedented growth in both users and operators, there arises an equal need to protect the users and promote responsible growth. I am happy to be part of FIFS and look forward to supporting and guiding the fantasy sports industry in achieving its full potential by affirming high standards and self-regulation,” said Julka.
