Fantasy Sports Generate ₹2,800 Crore in Revenue for IPL 2023, Redseer Analysis Reveals

• ByStartupStory     |    July 4, 2023

According to an analysis by Redseer Consultants, fantasy sports generated Rs 2,800 crore for the 2023 IPL season, with 61 million users participating on Fantasy Gaming platforms. This is a 24% increase from Rs 2,250 crore revenue of IPL 2022 and the market grew by 30% since IPL 2019.

Virtual teams created by users help them earn points in their players’ real-life matches. At the end of the season, participants win prizes based on their results. Fantasy gaming apps have gained popularity during the pandemic. 

Many new companies entered the market to capitalize on the popularity of cricket and have since launched virtual leagues and competitions in other sports such as football. 

According to Redseer, at least 35-50 percent of the revenue of fantasy sports platforms came from IPL matches. India has around 300 fantasy sports platforms and 18 million users, making it the fastest growing market in the world.

Dream11, India’s leading fantasy sports app, had 10.53 million concurrent users on the first day of the 2023 IPL season. Today, Dream11, which offers fantasy games across various sports including basketball, football and kabaddi, is India’s first gaming company to enter the elite club of private-equity startups with a valuation of at least $1 billion.

The top three platforms captured 96 percent of the market share during IPL 2023, with an average revenue of Rs 458 per user for the season. The average Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) on weekdays was 1.3 times higher than on weekends and peaked in the last match. Mega tables, which are the sum of the largest jackpot tables across all matches across all platforms, were down 30% over the weekend due to multiple matches being played on the same day. 

However, Mega Tables has a higher rake of 24 percent, which accounts for 60 percent of the season’s earnings. According to Redseer, a total of ₹10,000 crore was spent on advertisements, with the BCCI, franchise and broadcasters earning 65 percent of the total spend as direct revenue. The remaining 35 percent of indirect revenue accrued as advertising revenue on social media, traditional media and other online 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.  

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