Living The Dream

Fantasy Sports: Living The Dream

WORDS BY MRINAL GUJARE

In a country of 1.3 billion, entertainment, cricket and religion are considered to be the trinity. Indians are die-hard fans of cricket, and this sport grabs the majority of eye balls. Not surprisingly, this trend is showing up in the way that Fantasy Cricket is being accepted and played in the country. As per a report by KPMG, the Indian online gaming industry’s revenue is expected to hit USD 118.8 billion by FY23. The industry is touted to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.1%. The Indian fantasy sports industry is growing at a CAGR of 32% and is touted to scale USD 3.7 billion by 2024. With Dream11 taking the mantle of being the title sponsor of IPL 2020, a sudden surge of attention both from players and media fell directly on fantasy sports. The industry which built its base brick by brick was now the talk of the town. There has been a surge in users coming on board and trying their hand at other fantasy sports, like football and basketball. Indiatech’s Whitepaper stated that Indian online fantasy sports platforms have captivated foreign investors too. A Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) reportedly put the number at INR 1,500 Crore with respect to foreign investments during the period 2018 and 2019. Online Fantasy Sports operators reportedly paid INR 166 Crore in goods and services tax (GST) in FY19 and INR 445 Crore in FY20, which is more than double. Things are also looking up when we look at gross revenues. The OFS industry gross revenue stood at an impressive INR 2,400 Crore in FY20 as compared the previous year’s INR 920 crore. FIFS and KPMG released a report in 2020 which stated how the gross revenue is up nearly three times Y-O-Y basis from 2019 to 2020. The OFS industry is gaining solid ground with each passing day, and with foreign investments looking at India as a viable option to expand presence in the Fantasy Sports industry, we can expect headway from the OFS platforms.