Indian Fantasy Sports Platforms are witnessing a rush in users since the previous four years as per the reports by FIFS (Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports) (1).
The users base on the segment has grown exponentially in the previous three years. Notably, the number of online fantasy sports users has increased to 9 crores from 20 lakhs compared to 2016. The high movement has also led to a 160% revenue surge, to 2,400 crore INR in FY 2020 from 920 Crore INR in FY 2019.
Simultaneously, there is also a hike in the GST collection from this sector. There is a 2.6x increase in the fiscal year 2020, 445 crore INR from 166 crore INR in 2019. Indian Fantasy Sports Platform is growing at 32% CAGR. By the end of 2024, the sector’s worth is expected to reach 3.7 billion USD.
The Indian Fantasy Sports Platforms
These platforms are skill-based digital entertainment programs. Here, the sports fans can create their fantasy teams made up of real-life players of upcoming matches. Fans play several games on these platforms, including cricket, kabaddi, football, basketball, and other popular sports. If the player selected by the user of fantasy sports performs well in the real-life match, the user can earn cash rewards and other prizes.
There are several fantasy sports platforms in India, such as Dream11, MyTeam11, MPL, and My11 Circle. In 2020, Dream11 has replaced Vivo, the Chinese phone-maker, as the title sponsor of IPL (Indian Premier League). It has made the Indian fantasy sports platforms to come under the limelight. Along with IPL, Dream11 is also official partner of other sports leagues such as the Pro Kabaddi League and Hero Indian Super League.
Despite the surge in the Indian fantasy sports platforms, there are numerous court rulings in this sector. They are held as skilled-based games, hence get an exemption from anti-gambling regulations. However, the several court challenges over the year have dropped its growth.
