Fantasy sports made Rs 2800 crore during the IPL season in 2023 with 61 million users participating on Fantasy Gaming platforms, according to an analysis by Redseer Consultants. This is a 24 per cent jump in gross gaming revenue from Rs 2,250 crore in IPL 2022, and the market has grown at a CAGR of 30 per cent since IPL 2019. 

The virtual teams put together by users help them score points through the real-life performances of their players in the match. At the end of the season, the participants can win prizes or cash based on their scores. Fantasy gaming apps gained popularity during the pandemic. Many new companies entered the market to cash in on cricket’s popularity and have since launched virtual leagues and contests in other sports such as soccer.

On the first day of the 2023 IPL season, India’s leading fantasy sports app Dream11 clocked 10.53 million concurrent users. Today, Dream11, which offers fantasy games across a variety of sports, including basketball, football, and kabaddi, is India’s first gaming company to make it to the elite club of privately-held startups valued at $1 billion or more.

IPL 2023 had a strong user acquisition engine, with 35% of new users playing for the first time on the platforms. The influx of new users led to an 11% increase in cash users during the season, with the average spend per match of Rs 127 per user.

The average gross gaming revenue (GGR) during weekdays was 1.3x compared to weekends and peaked during the final match. The Mega Tables, which is the sum of all the highest prize pool tables in every match across the platforms, dropped in size by 30% during weekends due to multiple matches on the same day. However, Mega Tables have a higher rake rate of 24 per cent, contributing 60 per cent to the revenue during the season.

Redseer estimates a total of Rs 10,000 crore was spent on advertisements in which BCCI, Franchise, and Broadcasters earned 65% of the total spend as direct revenue. The remaining 35 per cent of indirect revenue was earned as ad revenue by social media platforms, traditional media, and other internet platforms.

Fantasy platforms offer a variety of tournaments and table sizes in order to attract different categories of users and gamers and promote spending. With fantasy platforms, users have the opportunity to win prizes by participating with their fantasy teams. While the entertainment value of fantasy IPL by itself is a strong driver, the grand prizes are a massive bonus. The opportunity to win grand prizes and unlocking premium features is a strong incentive for users to spend more on the platforms.  

“Government support for real money gaming in the form of a dedicated oversight ministry, along with formalized rules and regulations, is a strong facilitator for the industry. Added to that, Google has also allowed fantasy platforms in its Play Store. These measures will further encourage transacting users to participate and spend more in the game,” said Ujjwal Chaudhry, Partner at Redseer.