Fantasybet.com, MPL Fantasy Cricket, Dream11, MyTeam11, Howzat, and CricPlay are some of the leading fantasy sports platforms in India. A recent report showed that in 2019, the online gaming segment was worth 6,500 crores. It is expected to reach a whopping 18,700 crores by 2022. But according to KPMG, the IPL fantasy league will be around $1 billion. The existence of fantasy sports has completely changed how people use to watch their favourite sport. Passive viewers have become active users, and this type of gaming option keeps all the participants at the edge of their seats.
Fantasy Sports: What Is It?
Fantasy sports includes online prediction games where the participants build a virtual team with actual players. These players can be from National Basketball Association [NBA], Indian Premier League [IPL], English Premier League [EPL], and many more.
The gamers or users are called Managers, and they create a team of players within a specified league. They earn points based on real-life statistics, which are transformed into fantasy points. As a manager, you earn points based on the player’s performance in an accurate match.
All managers compete against each other to obtain points along with their virtual teams. You will manage a rooster by selling, adding and trading players to form the perfect team. When you have decided to do some Fantasy Sports betting, you must pay an entry fee to enter a particular competition. The prize money will be determined by the fantasy platform you are playing on.
What Is The Market Overview Of Fantasy Sports?
Several reports have provided evidence that the gross revenue of all the fantasy sports operators is 2400 Crores [USD 340.47 million] for FY20. This is three times more when compared with the gross income of FY19, which was 920 Crores [USD 131.64 million]. On the other hand, in 2024, India’s Fantasy Sports betting sector will be USD 3.7 billion. This will open brand-new opportunities for all the new entrants.
In the past 10 years, the fantasy sports market has seen a massive increase of 700%, along with a spike of 2500% within the number of participants. The fantasy sports sector in India is mainly driven due to the growth of digital infrastructure, the rise of disposable income, favourable demographics and the increase of investor’s interest in it.
The recent laws have viewed the fantasy sports platform as the “game of skills” rather than illegal sports betting. This factor builds a viable environment for the sector to flourish and become engaging and accessible for sports fans In India.
How Are Fantasy Sports Platforms Protected?
Since the sector is obtaining critical mass immediately, the operators are looking for various business offerings and models. It’s highly crucial to have a regulatory body that will help monitor and form this fastest-growing sector within the country.
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports was formed to safeguard customer’s affair and develop approved best values for fantasy sports format in India. Before, FIFS was known as the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming [IFSG]. FIFS stands out as a self-regulatory organization, which guarantees all the policy acquiescence.
Apart from that, they also work with the prominent policymakers and stakeholders of the country to build a sturdy governance composition. This will help in supporting the supported growth of the fantasy sports sector and also increase user trust.
The IP Rights: Usage Of Team Logos, Player’s Name, etc.
The usage of team logos and player names is a problem that surrounds the fantasy sports format. The platforms use the actual team logos, player names and various other things to make the entire game more exciting and fun. This will also help the users to choose definite players from specific teams easily. On the other hand, the IP [Intellectual Property] laws enable all the players to have several rights, including image rights.
The fantasy sport is designed around tournaments and competitions and participants, but not around the specific players. Business concessions are held between the teams or leagues and actual players so that the fantasy platforms can utilize their IP. But the main reason to use the authentic team logos and player names within these platforms is to identify them.
The images provided on these platforms do not suggest advertisements for the fantasy sports game. The Indian courts have already dealt with cases based on publicity rights, and there is less legal constitution available when it comes to fantasy sports platforms.
Summing Up
The embargo to all the 59 Chinese applications and PUBG enabled individuals to turn towards platforms based on fantasy sports. The exponential trajectory extension within the fantasy games sector has also grabbed the interest of many foreign investors. Many worldwide investors have already funded some of the fantasy platforms, and the increase within the user commitment will surely keep this reasonable force within the coming future.
Comments are closed.