During the most recent season of the Indian Premier League, the fantasy gaming platforms market in India had a significant surge. According to a RedSeer analysis, gross revenues of fantasy sports platforms in India reached INR 2,800 Cr during IPL 2023, up from INR 2,250 Cr in IPL 2022, thanks to a 24% YoY rise and a 30% CAGR.
The increase in transacting users and average revenue per user (ARPU) has been ascribed to revenue growth. In IPL 2023, 61 million people used Fantasy Gaming Platforms, an 11% increase from the previous year. Furthermore, during IPL 2023, the platforms achieved an ARPU of roughly INR 458.
According to the research, the top three platforms accounted for almost 96% of the market share during the major tournament. The names, however, were not revealed in the paper.
According to Ujjwal Chaudhry, a partner at Redseer, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) during the week was 1.3X more than on weekends and peaked during the final match. Due to many matches on the same day, the ‘Mega Tables,’ which are the sum of all the top prize pool tables in every match across all platforms, plummeted 30% during weekends. However, the rake rate on the ‘Mega Tables’ was 24%, accounting for 60% of the revenue for the season.
Redseer estimates that a total of INR 10,000 Cr was spent on commercials for the IPL 2023, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), franchises, and broadcasters gaining 65% of the total cost as direct revenue.
Many fantasy gaming startups, including Dream11, My11Circle, and MyFab11, participated as sponsors in the event. This IPL season, Dream11 endorsed six teams.
Ashneer Grover, an ex-BharatPe MD, has also started his fantasy cricket portal CrickPe. He told Inc42 that CrickPe’s parent company, Third Unicorn, raised $5 million (INR 40 crore) at a valuation of close to $36 million (INR 290 crore). Grover stated that CrickPe hoped to be profitable by the end of the current IPL season.
According to a Deloitte report, India has the world’s largest fantasy sports market, with over 13 million users as of March 2022.
The fantasy sports market in India is expected to expand from INR 34,600 Cr in FY21 to INR 1,65,000 Cr by FY25. Cricket is still the most profitable sport in the fantasy sports sector.
