Where the lab's revenue comes from
The lab's revenue comes from three sources: reader subscriptions, contest-entry referrals, and a small angel investment. The lab does not run display ads, sell reader data, or take sponsorship from contest operators.
Reader subscriptions
The lab offers a paid subscription tier with deeper analytics, API access, and priority support. Subscription revenue funds the editorial team. Subscription pricing is published on the signup page.
Contest-entry referrals
The lab earns a referral commission when readers enter contests via the lab's deep links. The commission does not influence captain picks or any lab-report content. Commission rates are negotiated per operator and disclosed quarterly.
Angel investment
The lab received a small angel investment in 2024 from a group of Indian angel investors. The investment funded the initial editorial team and the platform build. The investors have no operational control over editorial decisions.
No display ads
The lab does not run display ads. The lab does not sell reader data. The lab does not take sponsorship from contest operators. The lab's editorial principles are published on the owner page.
Regulated contest operators
The lab's partner contest operators are registered with the applicable state gaming authorities. The lab publishes the list of partner operators and the registration numbers On the site.
Operator A — Dream-style T20 contests
Registration: State gaming authority, Maharashtra. Operator offers T20 contests for IPL, T20 internationals, and bilateral series. Registration number published on the operator's website.
Operator B — Practice contests
Registration: not required (free entry, no real-money prizes). Operator offers free practice contests for squad-building iteration. No KYC required.
Operator C — T20 international contests
Registration: State gaming authority, Karnataka. Operator offers T20 international contests. KYC required for withdrawals above ₹10,000.
Operator D — Bilateral series contests
Registration: State gaming authority, Telangana. Operator offers India-Australia, India-England, and other bilateral series. KYC required for withdrawals above ₹10,000.
The lab's transparency report
Every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix.
Q1 2026 report
Captain hit rate: 61% (90-day rolling). Revenue mix: 48% subscriptions, 47% referrals, 5% other. Partner operators: 4. Methodology changes: 2 minor. Published 2026-04-15.
Q4 2025 report
Captain hit rate: 58% (90-day rolling). Revenue mix: 45% subscriptions, 50% referrals, 5% other. Partner operators: 3. Methodology changes: 1 major, 3 minor. Published 2026-01-15.
Q3 2025 report
Captain hit rate: 56% (90-day rolling). Revenue mix: 42% subscriptions, 53% referrals, 5% other. Partner operators: 3. Methodology changes: 2 minor. Published 2025-10-15.
Q2 2025 report
Captain hit rate: 54% (90-day rolling). Revenue mix: 40% subscriptions, 55% referrals, 5% other. Partner operators: 2. Methodology changes: 1 major, 2 minor. Published 2025-07-15.
Disclosure questions, answered
The most common questions about disclosure on PlayExch, with detailed answers.
How does the lab make money?
Reader subscriptions, contest-entry referrals, and a small angel investment. The lab does not run display ads, sell reader data, or take sponsorship from contest operators. The full revenue mix is published in the quarterly transparency report.
Which contest operators does the lab partner with?
The lab partners with four regulated contest operators. The registration numbers are listed On the site. The lab's editorial content is independent of partner relationships — captain picks are not influenced by referral commissions.
Does the lab take sponsorship?
No. The lab does not take sponsorship from contest operators, brands, or individuals. The lab's editorial principles are published on the owner page.
How often are transparency reports published?
Quarterly. The reports cover methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. Reports are published on the 15th of the month following quarter end.
Can I audit the lab's hit rate?
Yes. The methodology page publishes the projection-model code, the dataset schema, and the hit-rate calculation logic. Other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets.
Ready to start with PlayExch?
Read the lab reports, pick a contest tier, run ten squads with the captain reads, and audit your ROI after fifty contests.Read the lab reports, pick a contest tier, run ten squads with the captain reads, and audit your ROI after fifty contests This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline.
How the lab maintains editorial independence
The lab's editorial team operates independently of the commercial team. The firewall is enforced by the editor-in-chief and reviewed quarterly.
Editorial firewall
The editorial team does not report to the commercial team. The editor-in-chief has final say on every published report. The commercial team cannot influence captain picks, contest strategy, or any lab-report content. The firewall is reviewed quarterly by the board.
Commission disclosure
Every commercial relationship is disclosed On the site. The lab earns a referral commission when readers enter contests via the lab's deep links. The commission does not influence captain picks or contest strategy. Commission rates are published quarterly.
Partner content boundary
Lab reports never carry sponsored content. Sponsored placements live in a separate section labeled 'partner content'. The boundary is enforced by the editor-in-chief. The boundary is reviewed quarterly by the editorial board.
Reader-funded model
The lab's long-term goal is to be primarily reader-funded. Reader subscriptions currently account for 48% of revenue. The lab's roadmap targets 60% reader-funded revenue by 2027. The progress is published quarterly.
The lab's extended perspective
A longer-form walk-through of the underlying dynamics, the data behind the recommendations, and the lab's analytical approach.Within the PlayExch framework, a longer-form walk-through of the underlying dynamics, the data behind the recommendations, and the lab's analytical approach.
Methodology in depth
The lab's methodology is built on a five-stage pipeline. Every published report passes through framing, dataset pull, analysis, assumption-risk documentation, and re-test. The pipeline is published in full on the methodology page. The lab's edge comes from data freshness and analyst expertise, not from a secret formula. Other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets and the published model code. The lab publishes every dataset version and every model version. The lab never quietly updates a dataset after the conclusion lands.Within the PlayExch framework, the lab's methodology is built on a five-stage pipeline. Fantasy readers should note that every published report passes through framing, dataset pull, analysis, assumption-risk documentation, and re-test. The pipeline is published in full on the methodology page This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline. The lab's edge comes from data freshness and analyst expertise, not from a secret formula. On disclosure, other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets and the published model code. For the disclosure desk, the lab publishes every dataset version and every model version. Within the PlayExch framework, the lab never quietly updates a dataset after the conclusion lands.
Data sources in depth
The lab pulls data from four primary sources. Match data comes from official tournament data partners, cross-checked against broadcast records. Ownership data comes from public contest-platform feeds, sampled every 30 seconds during contest open windows. Contest result archives come from publicly published leaderboards. Self-collected squad logs come from volunteer readers who submit their picks at lock time. Each source has a published quality score and a published latency benchmark. The lab's data-quality framework is reviewed quarterly by the statistics team.Within the PlayExch framework, the lab pulls data from four primary sources. Fantasy readers should note that match data comes from official tournament data partners, cross-checked against broadcast records. Ownership data comes from public contest-platform feeds, sampled every 30 seconds during contest open windows This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline. Contest result archives come from publicly published leaderboards. On disclosure, self-collected squad logs come from volunteer readers who submit their picks at lock time. For the disclosure desk, each source has a published quality score and a published latency benchmark. Within the PlayExch framework, the lab's data-quality framework is reviewed quarterly by the statistics team.
Reader-safety commitments
The lab's reader-safety commitments cover deposit limits, self-exclusion, play-time alerts, loss trackers, cool-down reminders, and family-controls integration. The lab publishes the safety commitments on the responsible-play page. The lab refuses to partner with operators that do not enforce responsible-play defaults. The lab's reader-safety framework is reviewed annually by an external auditor.Within the PlayExch framework, the lab's reader-safety commitments cover deposit limits, self-exclusion, play-time alerts, loss trackers, cool-down reminders, and family-controls integration. Fantasy readers should note that the lab publishes the safety commitments on the responsible-play page. The lab refuses to partner with operators that do not enforce responsible-play defaults This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline. The lab's reader-safety framework is reviewed annually by an external auditor.
Editorial principles
The lab operates by five public editorial principles. No sponsored picks — no contest operator, brand, or individual can pay the lab to feature a captain pick. Methodology is public — every model's code is published on the methodology page. Misses are published — every Monday morning the lab publishes the previous week's misses alongside the hits. Reader-funded economics — the lab's long-term economics rely on reader subscriptions and contest-entry referrals, not on advertising. Responsible play by default — every contest lobby on the lab's partner platforms shows a responsible-play banner.Within the PlayExch framework, the lab operates by five public editorial principles. Fantasy readers should note that no sponsored picks — no contest operator, brand, or individual can pay the lab to feature a captain pick. Methodology is public — every model's code is published on the methodology page This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline. Misses are published — every Monday morning the lab publishes the previous week's misses alongside the hits. On disclosure, reader-funded economics — the lab's long-term economics rely on reader subscriptions and contest-entry referrals, not on advertising. For the disclosure desk, responsible play by default — every contest lobby on the lab's partner platforms shows a responsible-play banner.
Quarterly transparency
Every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. The report is published on the 15th of the month following quarter end. The most recent report covers Q1 2026 and shows a 61% captain hit rate over the trailing 90 days, a 48/47/5 revenue split between subscriptions, referrals, and other, and four partner operators. The report is available on the disclosure page.Within the PlayExch framework, every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. Fantasy readers should note that the report is published on the 15th of the month following quarter end. The most recent report covers Q1 2026 and shows a 61% captain hit rate over the trailing 90 days, a 48/47/5 revenue split between subscriptions, referrals, and other, and four partner operators This is why the disclosure desk treats it as a baseline. The report is available on the disclosure page.
