Fantasy Sports Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Sports, By Sports Type, By Platform, By Gameplay, By Device, By Demographics, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Fantasy Sports Market Size & Trends

The global fantasy sports market size was estimated at USD 20.30 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.1% from 2023 to 2030. The rising affordability of high-speed internet services and increased penetration of smartphones support the market growth. The increasing viewership of sports such as cricket, football, etc., is providing exposure to these events on the fantasy sports platform, which helps organizers to restructure the appetite and viewership of sports for fans in each country. Increasing capabilities of providing more fluent live-streaming of games, along with the availability of sports across traditional and next-generation platforms, also improve user engagement regarding betting and rotisserie platforms.

Additionally, the legalization of sports betting in several countries is also contributing to the growth of the market, as many sports platforms have integrated betting into their platform. The platform provider carries out various promotional activities as they provide sponsorship to national and regional teams. For example, DraftKings is an official fantasy partner for NASCAR and a sports betting provider in several events such as NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, and UFC.

According to data published by the Fantasy Sports Gaming Association in 2022, there are around 63 million active users on fantasy sports platforms in the U.S. and Canada. The fan base for this platform has kept increasing every year, as governments have been relaxing their rules. Along with this, search engines are also promoting these platforms by listing them as skill-based and real-time money-making platforms.

New technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are used in major fantasy leagues such as the fantasy premier league for football, in which platform providers are reinforcing new techniques that help users to evaluate and generate points predictions for the team as well as individual players. Users add players to their virtual team as per their performance in the actual game. Along with AI and ML, these platforms also integrate mixed-integer programming, which helps them to optimize player transfers over many weeks.

Sports Insights

The team sports segment held a significant revenue share of 33.4% in 2022 in the market. Team sports have higher chances of winning as users can select and build a virtual team by combining players from different teams. Cricket and football are the most preferred team sports by users on fantasy and betting platforms.

The individual sports segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 14.8% from 2023 to 2030. For individual sports such as tennis, most platform providers deal in major tournaments such as the Australian Open, Roland Garros, U.S. Open, etc. The U.S. Open has opted to get involved in fantasy tennis, allowing platform providers to have a simulation model that helps make strategic decisions for users who opt to play fantasy tennis.

Sports Type Insights

The football segment has a significant market traction, holding a revenue share of over 21% in 2022. The most significant fantasy football game is operated by the Premier League, called the Fantasy Premier League. This league has over 10 million active players. In fantasy football, users have to be the general manager of their fictional teams, with users gaining points for successful assists, goals, clean sheets, and saves.

Cricket is the fastest growing segment in the market, with an expected CAGR of 16.4% during the projection period. Major formats, such as the World Cup, National Leagues, and regional games, encourage users in India, Australia, England, and other countries to create virtual teams and compete with players worldwide. National leagues, such as the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, etc., have sponsors such as MPL, which is a fantasy team builder that allows users to create their own teams. These factors are expected to drive segment growth in the coming years.

Platform Insights

The web-based platform segment attained a market revenue share of around 22% in 2022. The web-based platform is safe and secure, and has a verified monetary transaction system that helps vendors to gain more users for their designated fantasy portals.

On the other hand, the application-based platform segment is poised to advance at a substantial CAGR of 15.0% from 2023 to 2030. Fantasy sports vendors are shifting from a traditional web-based platform to smart device application-based platforms, as they provide a better gaming interface, which allows users to join & create their league and track individual performance along with player rankings daily.

Gameplay Insights

The team competition gameplay segment accounted for the highest market share of over 68% in 2022 in the fantasy sports market. Users focus on team competitions as they can select and manage their virtual teams. Team events have a league structure that allows users to bet/create their team multiple times to multiply their winning amount. Team competitions include basketball, cricket, football, handball, hockey, and volleyball, among others.

Device Insights

The smartphone segment accounted for over 50% of the market share in 2022. Smartphones are gaining significant momentum due to the increased bandwidth of the internet, which provides users with a smooth internet experience, along with a constant drop in the prices of smartphones. Smartphones have shifted the preferences of players, teams, fans, and the media, with users being able to easily track the news of any sport and experience it in real time on the fantasy vendor’s platform.

The computer segment is poised to advance at a steady CAGR of 8.6% during the projected timeframe. According to the FSTA, computers or desktops will remain the preferred choice for many users. User preferences are shifting from computer/desktop-based fantasy league platforms towards smartphones applications. According to the FSTA, around 24% of users downloaded fantasy sports applications in 2015.

Demographic Insights

The 25 to 40 years demographic segment held an extensive market revenue share of around 28% in 2022. This age group is willing to enter pay-to-participate contests due to the low entry costs involved and the higher disposable income available with them for entertainment. The average age of a user who competes in a fantasy league or any fantasy games is 34.4 years, in which above 50% of the users are fully employed.

The under 25 years demographic segment is gaining substantial traction in the market, advancing at a notable CAGR of 15.3% during the forecast period. The segment growth is due to the rising desire to earn money in this age group through fantasy sports, and the willingness to manage a sporting team. Moreover, the market has attracted this demographic as it provides excitement and thrill along with the promise of real sports.

Regional Insights

North America is a prominent region in the market, accounting for a revenue share of over 38% in 2022. Since the emergence of fantasy sports, more prominent players such as FanDuel, DraftKings, NBC Sports Edge, etc., have deployed their wide range of sports offerings. The region has more than 60 million users, which becomes a promising market for vendors to target, as the demand for fantasy sports will remain at an all-time high. The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association is responsible for easy and smooth operations in the region, and looks after the interest of the regional vendors.

Asia Pacific is expected to make significant strides in the market, attaining a projected CAGR of 16.7% during the forecast period. The region is home to highly enthusiastic sports fans across the globe. As a result, vendors have a fundamental interest in the region due to the high demand for team managing sports and competitions among youngsters.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Key players operating in the global market for fantasy sports are focusing on mergers, acquisitions, and providing sponsorships, which helps them to attract new users. For instance:

• In January 2023, FanDuel launched its mobile sports betting sportsbook in the state of Ohio. Along with this, they announced the opening of its retail sportsbook at Belterra Park Cincinnati. This launch is expected to aid the company in providing the best-in-class betting experience for its users in Ohio

• In March 2021, Dream Sports Group announced that it had raised a funding of USD 400 million in a round led by TCV, D1 Capital Partners, and Falcon Edge

Some of the key players in the global fantasy sports market include:

• Dream Sports Group

• CBS Sports Digital

• Realtime Fantasy Sports Inc.

• Flutter Entertainment plc

• Vauntek Inc. (Fantrax)

• DraftKings

• Pure Win (Sweetspot N.V.)

• FanDuel

• FantasyPros.com

• MY11Circle

• FANTACALCIO (Quandronica Srl)

• RotoWire (GDC Media Limited)

• NBC Sports Edge (NBC Sports Group)

• MyFantasyLeague (Sideline Software Inc.)

• Office Football Pool (OFP Hosting Inc.)

Fantasy Sports Market Report Scope

Global Fantasy Sports Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and analyzes the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global fantasy sports market report based on sports, sports type, platform, gameplay, device, demographic, and region:

• Sports Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Individual Sports

  • Partner Sports

  • Team Sports

    • Invasion Games

    • Net Games

    • Fielding & Striking Games

    • Target Games

  • Extreme Sports

• Sports Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • American Football (Rugby)

  • Baseball

  • Basketball

  • Car Racing

  • Cricket

  • Football/Soccer

  • Others (MMA, Boxing, Golf, eSports, etc.)

• Platform Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Web-based

  • Application-based

• Gameplay Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Individual Competition

  • Team Competition

• Device Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Smartphone

  • Computer

  • Others

• Demographics Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • Under 25 Years

  • 25 to 40 Years

  • Above 40 Years

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • UK

    • France

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

    • South Korea

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East and Africa

    • UAE

    • Saudi Arabia

    • South Africa