Fantasy Sports Market Expected to Reach $114.7 Billion by 2033

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “fantasy sports market" was valued at $30.5 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $114.7 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 13.9% from 2024 to 2033.

Fantasy sports are online gaming platforms where participants manage and draft virtual teams of real professional sports players. Users compete against the fantasy teams of each other, over an entire sports league or season. Users who score the maximum points win money based on the performance of real professional sports players.  

The rapidly transforming online gaming industry has given much importance to the adoption of technologies for better and more efficient operations. With the incorporation of secured payment gateways, user-friendly interfaces, blockchain-based apps, and fantasy chatbots, the fantasy sports industry has witnessed huge leaps in terms of revenue generation, customer satisfaction, and operation efficiency. The incorporation of such technologies is expected to continue to serve as a lucrative opportunity for the engaged stakeholders in the fantasy sports market to better manage users as well as key operations. 

To promote and advertise their platforms, leading players in the industry have partnered with sports leagues, aiding them in increasing their market penetration. Some of the prominent players in this segment such as MyTeam11, Dream11, DraftKings 11Wickets, Halaplay, Starpick, fanduel, and Fantain have partnered with official sports leagues as their fantasy sports game partners. Dream11, one of the leading sports fantasy platforms in India, is the Official Fantasy Game Partner of the International Council of Cricket (ICC) , Hero Indian Super League (ISL) , VIVO Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) , Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) , National Basketball Association (NBA) , Big Bash League (BBL) , and International Hockey Federation (FIH) . Furthermore, the company has now acquired the official title for IPL with a bid of more than $30 million. Similarly, DraftKings Inc. and Major League Baseball announced a multi-year extension of Exclusive and official Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of the League. Such partnerships are likely to accelerate promotions and advertisements of sports fantasy platforms at the global level. 

Fantasy sports are often confused with illegal sports betting, though fantasy sports are skill-based. However, fantasy sports always remain under legal scrutiny of various gambling laws across the globe. The legality of fantasy sports is often based on existing gaming laws and skill game laws. Though fantasy sports are legal; however, states in the U.S. such as Arizona, Hawaii, Alabama, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington State, have banned one or more fantasy sports platforms such as DraftKings, Yahoo, FanDuel, and Fantasy Draft.  

The fantasy sports market is segmented into sports type, platform, demographics, and region. On the basis of sports type, the market is classified into football, baseball, basketball, hockey, cricket, and others. On the basis of platform, it is bifurcated into website and mobile application. On the basis of demographics, the market is divided into under 25 Years, 25 to 40 Years, and above 40 Years. Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Players operating in the fantasy sports market have adopted various developmental strategies to expand their fantasy sports industry market share, increase profitability, and remain competitive in the market. Key players profiled in this report include Dream Sports, DraftKings Inc., Fantacalcio, Fanduel (Flutter Entertainment) , Rotoworld, FantasyPros, Rotowire, Fantrax, Sportech Inc., and NFL Fantasy. 

Key finding of the study 

• In 2023, on the basis of sports type, the football segment was the highest contributor to the fantasy sports industry. 

• In 2023, by platform, the mobile application segment was the highest contributor to the fantasy sports market. 

• According to demographics, the 25 to 40 years segment generated the highest revenue in 2023, and is likely to grow at a substantial rate during the forecast period. 

• North America was the major revenue contributor in 2023 and is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period.