Fantasy sports expected to touch Rs 25k cr by 2027: Deloitte-FIFS report

It looks like endless discussions about the validity (and legality) of playing Fantasy Sports leagues during the ongoing Indian Premier League,  à la Dream11 Circle and other entities, may finally get closure.

With over 300 fantasy sports platforms (FSPs) and 18 Cr users, India is the fastest-growing fantasy sports market in the world. The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), in collaboration with professional services firm Deloitte India unveiled a co-branded report titled ‘Fantasy Sports: A catalyst for the sports economy’ bringing the spotlight on to the future of the FS industry in the country.

As per the reports, the industry grew by 31% to Rs 6,800 crore in FY22. It is expected to touch Rs 25,240 crore by FY27. The industry is currently valued at Rs 75,000 Cr. 60% of user transactions on the FS platforms have come in through tier II and tier III cities.

Fantasy Sports attracted Rs 15,000 crore in FDI till FY 22 which is expected to touch Rs 25,000 crore by FY27, even as it contributed Rs 4500 crore by the way of taxes. This is expected to reach Rs 26,000 crore in the next five years. Meanwhile, the GST contribution from the industry is expected to increase by 5x over the next five years, from Rs. 2,800 Cr. in FY18-FY22 to Rs. 14,700 Cr. between FY23-FY27.

FS industry players invested Rs 3,100 crore towards development of the sports ecosystem by way of sponsorships and partnerships with various sports leagues in FY22. This number is expected to reach Rs 6,500 in FY 27. FS is playing a key role in promoting non-cricket sports in India. 69.8% users strongly agreed that they started to watch new sports and learn about new players and leagues as a result of their interest in playing fantasy sports.

Speaking to exchange4media, Prashanth Rao, Partner, Consulting, Deloitte India, said that the increased allocation for sports in the 2023 Union Budget, as well as the setting up of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as the nodal ministry for esports and fantasy sports was helping drive confidence in the segment, be it for consumers, in-segment brands, as well as current and potential future advertisers.

“Fantasy sports cut through two of the most basic metrics: age and location. Because of the growing ubiquity of online access through cheap devices and data, anyone can participate, meaning the number of engaged consumers is only going to get bigger,” he said, noting that advertisers were taking note of the segment because of that universality of interest.

Joy Bhattacharjya, Director General, FIFS referred to the final changes to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, introduced by MeitY in relation to online gaming earlier this month as further paving the way for the segment.

“This is an ongoing conversation, and it doesn’t mean there will be immediate and compete acceptance of the segment. But the new rules have certainly provided great clarity to concerned companies and they are going to be the ones to take that conversation forward, and help in consumers realizing that this is here, and it’s only going to get bigger in the future.”