Fantasy games have made their way to the Indian market, the online gaming sector has undergone a drastic transformation in the last decade, with the global market witnessing robust growth in recent years. India, too, has been a significant part of this growth story, it has made exponential growth in terms of its digital infrastructure. Growing affordability of smartphones, expansion of the internet user base, and plummeting data prices are resulting in such growth.

Fantasy sports games; skill-based or not?

The Games required a certain level of expertise and knowledge if it comes to winning rewards, Winning a fantasy game is not as easy it requires skills and a lot of research in creating a team. And skills matter more than luck in fantasy games.

What lies ahead for India’s booming fantasy sports market?

Fantasy sports is at the growing stage and making a great impact on the gaming industry. With around 70-80 companies operating actively, the Indians are actively participating in it for entertainment purposes and it’s contributing to the industry’s growth. The future of India’s sports market is growing rapidly.

It was thus unsurprising to see how fantasy games have made their story in Indian Market

> 74 percent of users play fantasy games one to three times a week, with the majority playing once a week.

> Fun and excitement came out as primary motivators for 72 percent playing fantasy sports across all age and income groups. For around 81 percent of respondents, the ‘ability to manage teams virtually’, ‘remain connected with the sport’, and ‘utilization of sports knowledge’ were other important motivators for engagement.

> Further, 69% of respondents say that there are no overlaps between Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting and amongst these.

> The ‘opportunity to win money was seen as one of the motivators for around 30 percent of respondents. However, this was only the fifth most important factor for engagement.

> The report pointed out that 54 percent of users play fantasy sports for free. Forty-six percent have played paid contests at least once in the last 12 months.

> Another important aspect the study brought to notice is that only 25-30 percent of the spending on fantasy sports platforms comes from the users’ pockets. Around 70-75 percent of the spending are re-investments coming from previous winnings, cash bonuses, es or periodical promotional offers given by these platforms to their users.

> Most users from the top seven-eight cities of the country were found to be playing less frequently than some smaller towns in the country. Almost 85 percent of the respondents from major cities play fantasy sports 1-3 times a week as compared to nearly 70 percent of respondents from smaller towns who represent more than four times a week on such platforms.

> Among the most preferred sports in online gaming, cricket won the contest with 71 percent, followed by 54 percent playing football. The non-cricket sports leagues in India are also witnessing increasing traction, the report added.

 “The overall online gaming industry stood at INR 43.8 billion in FY’18 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 22.1% over FY18-FY23, to reach a size of INR 118.8 billion by FY23. Sports gaming in India has significant opportunities for the future and avenues like evolving ecosystem around sports gaming, user stickiness and increasing penetration of mobile internet amongst the regional language users in the country that could drive future growth”, said Girish Menon, M&E Partner, KPMG