 "Fantasy gaming revenue to go up 25-30% during ongoing IPL: Redseer report")
Gross gaming revenue of fantasy sports during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) is expected to grow by 30-35 per cent to reach Rs 2,900 crore-3,100 crore in 2023, according to a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants.
Transacting users in this IPL is expected to grow by 25-30 per cent, with 60-65 per cent of them coming from tier-II cities and beyond.
“Steep growth in fantasy sports gaming will come from tier-II cities driven by increasing adoption of fantasy platforms and cross-migration of users from other games,” said Ujjwal Chaudhry, partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants. “Increased internet accessibility will give a push to the IPL economy. Our estimates suggest that the average revenue per user is expected to grow from Rs 410 in IPL 2022 to Rs 440 per user in IPL 2023.”
Ujjwal said government encouragement by way of formalised rules and regulations regarding GST for real money gaming platforms and Google allowing fantasy platforms on its Play Store will further increase the number of transacting users.
Ten teams are competing in the IPL, one of the most expensive leagues worldwide. According to Redseer, IPL’s market size has grown because of several factors, including growing awareness of fantasy gaming and new platforms amplifying their marketing.
Since its inception in 2008, IPL has predominantly been a televised sporting event with an audience of around 100 million. Its viewership peaked at 460 million in 2019. During the Covid-19 pandemic, its TV viewership dropped by 10 per cent as the lack of live sporting events caused many viewers to migrate to OTT platforms.
Highlights
- IPL revenue to grow by 30-35% to reach Rs 2,900-3,100 cr in 2023
- Emerging new platforms in the space include Cricpe, Gamezy and Howzatt
- No. of transacting users during IPL expected to grow by 25-30% in 2023
- About 80% of users are from tier-2 cities and beyond
- Average spends per user projected to grow by 5-10%, Rs 410 in IPL 2022 to Rs 440 in 2023
- Google has allowed fantasy platforms to be available on Play Store under a pilot programme
- Users have received a positive push from the government, as it has formalised rules and regulations regarding GST for real money gaming platforms