Esports and skill gaming app Mobile Premier League (MPL) has launched its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Good Game Exchange (GGX), even as the digital asset industry faces a daunting business environment due to the ongoing crypto winter and regulatory uncertainties.
The launch comes amid a busy cricketing season in the country, which includes the ongoing Women's Premier League (WPL) tournament and the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, as well as a legal dispute with a startup backed by one of MPL's major rivals, Dream Sports.
GGX will allow people to buy, sell and trade NFTs. At the time of writing this article, the platform offers a collection of digital player trading cards sourced from the online sports collectibles and fantasy sports platform Striker. MPL had backed Striker, a venture started by two of its employees, Krishna Mohan Vedula and Nitesh Jain, Moneycontrol had reported in September 2022.
These trading cards can be filtered based on the player, player type, price, country, and tournaments such as the WPL and India and Pakistan's domestic T20 leagues. The cards can also be filtered based on rarity, similar to what Striker currently provides (Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Striker).
Users can also sort these cards based on price or browse through player cards for current or upcoming local and international cricket match fixtures. Currently, it offers player cards priced between Rs 10 and Rs 2 lakh, depending on their rarity.
Each listing denotes the number of player cards that are up for sale and the total collection supply, since these cards are limited in number. It also indicates the recent trade activity including who created (minted) the card, transferred it and traded it to others. However, it doesn't allow users to buy these cards on GGX as yet.
The platform will enable users to trade Good Game Token (GGT), which is an in-game utility token issued by GGX. Every time a player trades on the platform worth Rs 400, they will receive a single GGT token, according to the website. The GGX token will not be available or listed on any platform outside of the game or any other associated games, the company notes in its terms and conditions.
People familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol that GGX plans to offer digital assets from additional games on its platform in the future. MPL also has a separate team working on GGX, similar to how it operates the gaming studio Mayhem Studios that was announced last year.
What's particularly noteworthy is that these cards use player caricatures rather than their pictures. Moneycontrol earlier reported that Striker works with a community of artists across the country to create digital art collectibles. Apart from the remuneration the artists get for their creations, they also get a commission on every card purchase and sale.
Users can create teams with the player cards they own and earn points based on the real-life performances of these players, and compete in a range of fantasy contests. MPL declined to comment on this development.
The legal dispute
In February 2023, Dream Sports-backed cricket NFT platform Rario filed a petition with the Delhi High Court against MPL and Striker to prevent them from offering fantasy gaming via NFTs.
Rario has alleged that Striker's player caricatures and identifiers, such as player names and surnames, infringe on the personality rights it has licenced exclusively from certain cricketers, such as Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Umran Malik, in order to offer their digital player cards on the platform.
In its petition, Rario claims that it has spent Rs 148 crore to procure these licenses from nearly 170 players in the past two years. Indian cricketers such as Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Mavi, and Umran Malik have also joined Rario's petition.
It's worth noting that Rario also has a cricket strategy game called D3 that was developed in partnership with Dream Sports. The game allows Rario users to form three-member teams with the player cards they own and participate in contests during live matches to earn cash rewards, as per the company website.
Meanwhile, skill gaming industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and social gaming and interactive entertainment platform WinZO have filed separate petitions in the Delhi High Court to be allowed to intervene in the lawsuit.
In its petition, AIGF stated that the case has "wide ranging ramifications across the gaming industry" and "not being able to use specific identifiers for players would have drastic impact on fantasy sports platforms" and "could impact growth of smaller companies", according to an IANS report.
Meanwhile, WinZO states in its petition that Rario may use the court order to stifle its rivals who are operating similar formats in the space.
“WinZO has intervened in the matter as Rario could expand the scope of the purported licenses received by them from some players to obtain a blanket order from the court restraining the operation of all similar formats operated by Dream11's competitors. Any order passed on the question of law being adjudicated in the suit will have industry wide ramifications” Saumya Singh Rathore, co-founder at WinZO games told in a statement to Moneycontrol.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
