Gaming
The IPL Fantasy League returns with additional features
BENGALURU: The stage is set for another edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well the second edition of TenTenTen Digital Products (TenTenTen) ‘IPL Fantasy League’. The ‘Digital IPL’ that debuted last year, created an immediate impact, with over five lakh players across the globe participating during IPL 2013.
The 2014 edition is packed with new game features as well as fun elements, fans will now get to replay this excitement in the new season says the company.
“We are extremely excited about the league this year. When we approached IPL last year, we were confident about the appeal of a Fantasy League, as well as how it will help grow the craze of IPL beyond the traditional boundaries. However, what caught us by surprise was the momentum it gained in its debut year itself. With half a million participants, the league became the largest fantasy cricket league ever. This year, we have packed in lots of new stuff to fuel the awareness and engagement for IPL further. We expect a million players to play the league this time, taking the IPL fever to the next level globally.” said TenTenTen Digital Marketing Guru and founder Ramesh Srivats.
TenTenTen says that the site saw nearly 1.5 crore visits and over 10 crore page views in a span of two months last year and also created tremendous involvement and social buzz with lakhs of tweets and Facebook updates.
Users were given the ability to create private leagues and play IPL Fantasy with their friends and colleagues, for bragging rights. Encouraged by the success, the Fantasy League was extended to the Champions League T20 2013 with TenTenTen handling all responsibilities for the same.
The League allows a player to own and create a team with name, emblem and motto. Each player is then given 10 million Fantasy Dollars using which he or she can pick a virtual squad of 11 players. Players then earn points based on their squad’s actual performance in IPL matches. The Fantasy team with the most points wins the league.
The league is also better optimised for mobile this year says TenTenTen. The winners of the IPL Fantasy League 2014 stand a chance of winning tickets to the matches and exciting IPL merchandise.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
