Why Fantasy Sports is now a booming business in India

As recorded last in a combined report by IFSG (Indian Federation for Sports Gaming) and AC Nielsen in 2017, there are now about 7 million fantasy players in India with engagement rate as high as 89% in a month and 96% in a year. What this denotes is that about 89% people participate in such fantasy gaming at least once in a month and 96% do it at least once in year. So, with the user engagement being so high, fantasy sports gaming industry is a thriving business and yet has huge scope for further growth.

For those who are unaware of the beauty of the fantasy sports gaming, it basically allows the passionate sports lover to participate in the real on-ground game of their liking. In simple words, what makes fantasy gaming so ahead of any other forms of online gaming is its capability to quench the desire of the people who themselves can’t play on field and yet can participate in the real game. Fantasy Cricket in India in particular is big deal now with around 30 sites allowing their users to engage with various sports on a daily basis.  Among the users who can play fantasy cricket, the population mainly consists of financially independent working professionals who have a huge disposable income. According to the report of AC Nielsen, 51% of the users are graduates and 84% of the users are working professionals who play online cricket games.  72% of the fantasy sports users are aged 25 to 35, 28% being 18 to 24 years old males.  Although this game is predominantly a male affair the rising popularity is inviting more and more people into this genre irrespective of their gender. Eventually, in recent times we can see many sports loving girls are registering themselves in various fantasy gaming websites.

Despite being a freshman in the fantasy gaming industry, India has caught up quite well with the international craze for fantasy sports which was already existent in countries like USA and Canada since the 1950s. What accelerated this phenomenon of fusing sport with technology is advent of inexpensive yet high speed 4G networks and smartphones. Now almost anybody and everybody can participate in the fantasy leagues. And it is a fact that about 93% users play fantasy sports via mobile/tablets. Therefore, the ease of access to such activities, mixed with the already existing passion for sports, especially cricket, led to flourishing the fantasy sport industry in India. So, with such process in operation, India is surely now a breeding ground for fantasy sports players thus making Fantasy gaming industry to be a lucrative business.