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It is widely known that India is a country that harbors an abundance of love for sports and entertainment. A trend that was sustained long before the emergence of fantasy sports in India. Today, however, fantasy sports have accelerated that enthusiasm that many fans have for their favorite sport and also prompt passive viewers to participate in the enigma of fantasy sports actively.
Now one may ask, what exactly does Fantasy Sports entail? In a gist, it is a form of skill-based online sports compilation wherein a fan of a particular game can create a team consisting of real-time players. These virtual teams receive points based on the player’s performance during the real-time matches, and following that, winners are declared.
In a way, fantasy sports worked like an enabler for the fans as it enabled them to come closer to real-time action. Mainly it is Cricket that sits on the throne of the sports craze in India; considering its a high number of subscribers and massive popularity across the nation, other sports like Kabaddi, Football, and Basketball are not far behind. But why is India becoming the priority market for fantasy sports across the world today? Here’s more information in detail.
The Potency of the Fantasy Sports Market Growth in India
The craze for fantasy sports has shot up in India over the past couple of years. According to the FICCI-EY report, the Indian fantasy sports industry is projected to hit $2.5 billion in 2022. The market is growing at a CAGR of 32% and will eventually be worth approx—$ 3.7 billion, possibly by 2024.
The revenue created by fantasy sports in India is far beyond anyone’s expectations. And with that, so much more is yet to be accomplished; it is easy to entice stakeholders to estimate their possible earnings and taxability of income. This, in turn, became a viable reason for making India a priority market in fantasy sports.
The impact of Covid-19 helped in expanding the industry
Apart from creating an epidemic globally, Covid-19 also significantly stimulated the growth of many businesses beyond expectation through its imposed lockdown. Amid, work from home regulations many people were free at last to enjoy more leisure activities at home. One of which was engaging in fantasy sports in their free time.
According to the report published by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports and KPMG, the gross revenue generated by the fantasy sports industry by FY2020 stood at 2,400 crores (US$ 340.47 million) whereas, in 2019, the market size was valued at Rs 920 crore (US$ 131.64 million). This means in the pandemic, the size increased to three times its original value.
The Growing Number of Market Players
The number of players in the fantasy sports industry is increasing tremendously. In India, there used to be approx. Ten players till 2016, and today the number of operators has grown to 150 in total. Dream 11 is one such founding member of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and is currently one of the most prominent players from India in the fantasy sports industry. And many such members are on the list that is successfully promoting industry growth singlehandedly.
Technological advancement in India severely helped the passionate fans follow their desired sport
One of the primary reasons for the enormous growth of the fantasy sports market in India is the remarkable passion the fans have for its games (like Cricket) in India. Technological advancement is another important aspect of it as the development of internet usability and last running data (4G and now 5G) across India has subsequently helped many passionate individuals in following their love for sports online. With easy accessibility and their unparalleled passion for sports, more fans were able to play fantasy sports regularly.
Conclusion
India serves a wide range of sports entertainments expanding from fantasy cricket to fantasy kabaddi. And from their main prospect, fantasy sports have created immense interest in virtual sports among gaming enthusiasts in India.
The market has increased by 700% in the past ten years the number of fantasy sports players in India, and in terms of fantasy sports users, the spike is witnessed at 2500%. From these stats and factors, it is clear how India is the priority market for fantasy sports today.