Ace2Three raises stakes on fantasy sports portal Fan Fight

Ace2Three raises stakes on fantasy sports portal Fan Fight

The operator behind Indian rummy website Ace2Three has anted up in real-money fantasy sports platform Fan Fight.

Ace2Three raises stakes on fantasy sports portal Fan FightHyderabad-based Head InfoTech India Pvt. Ltd., which operates Ace2Three, announced on Wednesday that it has shelled out INR6.5 crore ($1 million) for a majority stake in Fan Fight. The fresh investment will go towards scaling the fantasy sports platform, as well as for marketing and hiring tech and analytical talents, according to the company.

This marks the second investment that Head InfoTech India had made in Fan Fight. In April 2017, the online rummy operator put in close to $39 million for 2.5 million Series A preference shares in the fantasy sports company.

Founded in 2016, Fan Fight focuses on cricket games, although its founders said there are plans to add other sports like football and kabbadi.

Investing in Fan Fight is part of Head InfoTech India’s broader plans of expanding into other gaming products within the social gaming space outside of the country.

In an interview with the Economic Times, Head InfoTech founder and CEO Deepak Gullapalli said the company had been eyeing building its own fantasy sports platform when it learned about Fan Fight.

“We were impressed with the prototype and thought acquiring a majority stake in the startup, where they would be like a subsidiary to Head InfoTech, made more sense versus developing our own platform,” Gullapalli told the news outlet.

Ace2Three started its commercial operations in 2008, offering two- and six-player gaming options. The online rummy portal, which also offers tournaments and pool games for an entry fee, was acquired by Canadian private equity fund Clairvest Group in 2017 for more than $70 million.

The announcement comes at an opportune time for Ace2Three. This week, reports surfaced that India’s highest court has opined that fantasy sports is not gambling, and that it requires a great amount of skill. The decision provides greater clarity of the highly-debated topic of daily fantasy sports in India, although it’s still too early to claim victory.