Fantasy sports: a new craze among Indian gaming geeks

2 out of 3 (67 percent) online cricket fans in India are aware of fantasy sports gaming, according to IFSG - AC Nielsen report ‘Scoring big with sports gaming’. The report which is India's first ever report on the phenomenal growth of Fantasy Sports gaming, also highlights the changing nature of sports consumption with 3rd screen interactivity showing a marked rise, both in metros and non-metros.

In Fantasy Sports, users become participants by putting together virtual teams of real players. Unlike simulation games, outcomes of Fantasy Sports are based on the actual statistical performance of players in real matches.The advent of Fantasy Sports has converted a passive sports viewer into an active fan.

“Over the past decade, Fantasy Sports has been at the helm of evolving the Indian sports fans’ experience by giving them the perfect platform to showcase their sports knowledge and skill. 70 crore Indian passive sports viewers now have the opportunity to become active participants in every single match. Fantasy Sports is the start of a revolution that will change the face of the sports industry forever,” said Harsh Jain , Chairman of IFSG & Co-Founder, CEO of Dream11.

The report says that fantasy sports is highly sticky and engaging in nature with nearly 90 percent of the users playing fantasy sports at least once a month. Fantasy Sports in India now has about 60 fantasy sports gaming operators, up from 30 operators in 2017. In the US and Canada that have been playing fantasy sports since the 1950s, there are 59.3 million (5.93 crore) Fantasy Sports users, while India is home to 2 crore fantasy sports users - growing from just 20 lakh in 2016.

In India, Fantasy Sports is widely played across Cricket, Football, Kabaddi and Basketball. Fantasy Sports is the new language of sports, and has the potential to change the way Indian sports fans traditionally consumed sports.