A Brief Reality Check on the Future of Online Fantasy Sports in India

Sports have long been an important aspect of Indian culture, with cricket, hockey, football and some more attracting millions of followers across the country. Fans have been looking for ways to become more involved with their favourite sports for years, and likewise, online fantasy games have been one of the most popular methods to do so. The Indian fantasy sports business has been booming for several years. Back in 2016, you would find that around 2 million Indians were only indulged in fantasy games. But after that within a few years, that figure has risen to more than 100 million, and it continues to rise by the day. If we talk about the game preferences of Indians, most of them are big fans of cricket. Hence, fantasy cricket games have a huge demand in India.

Fantasy sports serve as a stepping stone to gambling. They help individuals to become more comfortable with betting on the result of player performances in the hopes of winning money. Many people perceive fantasy gaming to be gambling, which is why it is still in its infancy. But the fact is, online fantasy games are not the same as gambling because Indian gambling regulations are quite severe. If we talk about the law, fantasy sports are prohibited in certain states, including Nagaland, Assam, Telangana, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh because of their strict law. As per Indian Law, if a game is “skill-based”, then it does not come under gambling and fantasy sports are skill-based games.

Sports betting is very much closer to being legalised in our country. The government has already been ordered by the Supreme Court of India to investigate the feasibility of this. It will bring order to a vast market and increase the government's tax collection by thousands of crores. Furthermore, the amount of money that these fantasy sites in India would be able to generate once it gets completely legalized is beyond most people's comprehension. Thousands of crores are wagered on every cricket match in India. The majority of this is done via offline methods or illegally. If even a little portion of this can be acquired by a legal body, it will completely transform its fortunes.

In many respects, 2020 has been an odd year, with India briefly slipping into complete lockdown due to the Covid-19 epidemic, and limitations preventing sports fans from fully enjoying cricket and other activities. While the fantasy sports business was already flourishing, the pandemic aided its growth by forcing numerous individuals to stay indoors and turn to the internet for amusement. Many of the major Indian fantasy sports operators took advantage of this opportunity to expand their player bases.

By the year-end of 2020, around 100 million Indians were involved in fantasy sports including fantasy football in India, but most of them, however, were into fantasy cricket games. In 2020, fantasy sports generated USD 340 million in income, up significantly from USD 131 million the year before. In only a few years, the number of fantasy sports participants has increased by 25 times, and a slew of new operators are entering the market.

India is a hub for a wide number of active fantasy cricket sites. The fantasy sports business is poised for growth as more individuals actively participate in fantasy sports. These firms' growing profits indicate that fantasy gaming in India would only grow exponentially in the foreseeable future.

Download Best Fantasy Game App