Have you ever dreamed of managing your favorite team or dreamed that you could sign the star of the moment and build a dream squad? What would seem like a distant dream for any fan is a pleasant reality thanks to Fantasy Sports, a form of entertainment with millions of followers worldwide.
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In recent years, fantasy sports have become an attractive business with a seductive premise: to recreate the management of a league club. That is, to be the ‘manager’ who must analyze the available data to select the best players in the tournament and with them generate high profits and good sporting results.
Mordor Intelligence, an Indian firm dedicated to business activity consulting, had estimated that Fantasy Sports would reach USD 26.98 billion in 2023 worldwide. Its accurate forecasts also indicated that this sector will grow at an annual rate of 12.92% to reach USD 49.53 billion by 2028.
The popularity of athletes and sports figures, the creation of fantasy leagues, the massification of the Internet, and the launch of applications are aspects that explain this solid development. A phenomenon that not only enjoys undeniable popularity among fans but has also revolutionized the rules of the game in the sports market.
RISING NUMBERS
According to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (FSGA), an entity that collects data on this modality, in 2022 there were 62.5 million players immersed in fantasy sports in the United States and Canada. This figure is the result of gradual and sustained evolution driven by fan interest and mass access to technology.
According to the oldest FSGA estimate, in 1988 there were 500,000 people dedicated to Fantasy Sports. The big boom would come between 1991 and 1994, years in which it went from 1 million to 3 million. A record. Then, in 2003, and in a society more willing to log in to websites, 15.2 million fans were registered.
After experiencing slight decreases in 2004 (13.5 million) and 2005 (12.6 million), this figure continued its inevitable climb in 2007 with 19.4 million users. A year later, a new peak was reached: 29.9 million players connected via smartphones, a tool that would be key to the development of Fantasy Sports.
The figure continued to rise with ease, setting more records in 2010 (32 million), 2011 (35.9 million), 2014 (41.5 million), and 2015 (56.8 million). Although for 2016 and 2017 this parameter showed more stable growth, going from 57.4 million to 59.3 million, it has managed to maintain itself without signs of losing strength until now.
TASTES AND PREFERENCES
With data from multiple sectoral studies in both countries, the FSGA report revealed interesting details. The most striking is that the number of men almost doubles that of women (64% and 35%, respectively). And, in terms of age, it detailed that 48% of the total corresponds to a young and adult audience, between 18 and 34 years old.
But there’s more. It was revealed that Fantasy Sports fans prefer to form their lineups with National Football League (NFL) teams in 79%. Far behind are the National Basketball Association (NBA) with 32%, Major League Baseball (MLB) with 22%, and the National Hockey League (NHL) with 12%.
The list is completed by Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NCAA Division I Football Championship (university tournament) with 11%, NASCAR and golf competitions (9%), eSports (8%), the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship (university tournament) with 7%, among others.
It was also evident that 84% of fantasy sports users had a higher education degree (university degree); while, in terms of purchasing power, 65% of them reported annual incomes greater than USD 50,000. Although this interesting breakdown may be surprising, it actually demonstrates a sustained trend.
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A DECADE AGO
Another detailed report, this time published by the firm Nielsen in November 2013, supports this statement. Here it was observed that there were also more men (68.4%) than women (31.6%) in US Fantasy Sports. Half of them (50.6%) were married, a slightly higher figure than single individuals (49.1%).
In terms of age, adults between 25 and 34 years old (30.7%) and between 35 and 44 years old (25.1%) were the most engaged segments in this game. Curiously, in third place, young people between 18 and 24 years old (17.3%) appeared, followed by people aged 45 to 54 (15.6%), 55 to 64 (7.6%), and finally those aged 65 and over (3.8%).
According to income level, players with annual incomes between USD 50,000 and 74,999 (25.9%) and those between USD 25,000 and 49,999 (22.4%) led the list. They were followed by those earning between USD 75,000 and 99,999 (16.8%) and over USD 100,000 (20.1%). This profile helped to understand some of their purchasing preferences.
While users created their teams, they also purchased movie tickets (84%), credit cards (67%), insurance (66%), and appliances (60%). Other common purchases included tickets to concerts or sporting events (58%), telephone services or mobile devices (57%), beer (49%), or diet products (39%).
MAJOR COMPETITORS
In those days, users generally turned to statistics websites to design their fantasy teams. The most visited information sites were Yahoo! Sports (1,253 million), ESPN.com (1,038 million), FOXSports.com (957 thousand), MLB.com (614 thousand), and Big Lead Sports of FSV Network (609 thousand).
A decade later, the landscape has changed significantly, especially because the market has diversified to the point where CBS Sports Digital, NFL Enterprises LLC, and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports LLC share presence with the giants FanDuel Group and DraftKings Inc., the two pioneering platforms in this type of game.
Both firms accounted for 90% of players in North America until just a few years ago. Today, along with Fantasy Pros, Dofu Stream, Sleeper, ESPN, and Draftea, they make up the most popular search and betting pages in Canada, the United States, and, to a lesser extent, Mexico. This momentum is also reflected in other latitudes.
MAJOR AND NEW LEAGUES
With a boom since 2013 and the presence of FanDuel Group and DraftKings Inc., Europe is a case worthy of imitation. Since then, the number of users has continued to rise to the point where competitions such as basketball, hockey, and, above all, football have become flagship tournaments through official fantasy leagues.
Some operators dominating this market include Fan Team, Play ON, Live FPL, Fantasy Premier League (United Kingdom), Fantasy Liga (Spain), Fantasy Bundesliga (Germany), and Serie A Fantasy (Italy). India, South Korea, China, and other booming countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Australia in the South Pacific, are not far behind.
In that region, the trend is the rapid acceptance of electronic sports (eSports) and disciplines such as cricket, football, or hockey through platforms like Dream Sports, Play UP, Real GM, Hala Play Technologies, and ESPN. And, despite still being in growth, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa show great potential. Here, the strategic association between entities organizing leagues in each country, media outlets, and operating firms (Futbol Fantasy, Fantrax, among others) aims to increase the game’s visibility and involve more users. With these advances, the future of Fantasy Sports looks promising.
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