The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) proved to be a lucrative venture for fantasy sports platforms, as revealed by Redseer Strategy Consultants. IPL 2023 witnessed a gross gaming revenue of Rs 2,800 crore, with 61 million users participating in fantasy gaming.
Redseer’s analysis shows a 24 percent increase in gross gaming revenue compared to IPL 2022, reaching Rs 2,250 crore. The market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 percent since IPL 2019.
A fantasy league is a virtual game where participants create their own teams using real-life players and virtual currency. Users’ virtual teams earn points based on the performances of their real-life players during matches. At the end of the season, participants can win prizes or cash based on their scores.
The analysis by the strategy consultant reveals that IPL 2023 had a strong user acquisition engine, with 35 percent of new users playing for the first time on the platforms. The influx of new users led to an 11 percent increase in cash users during the season, with an average spend per match of Rs 127 per user.
Ujjwal Chaudhry, a partner at Redseer, states that the top three platforms captured 96 percent of the market share during IPL 2023 and had an average revenue of Rs 458 per user for the season.
“The excitement of IPL also extended to non-IPL sporting events during the season, contributing to 13 percent of the revenue,” he adds.
Analyzing the average gross gaming revenue (GGR), Redseer notes that the GGR during weekdays was 1.3 times higher than on weekends and reached its peak during the final match. The Mega Tables, which represent the sum of all the highest prize pool tables in every match across the platforms, decreased in size by 30 percent during weekends due to multiple matches taking place on the same day. However, Mega Tables had a higher rake rate of 24 percent, contributing 60 percent to the revenue during the season.
Dream11 is the official fantasy partner of IPL and has been associated with a few teams. Other key players in the market include My11Circle, BalleBaazi, and Mobile Premier League, among others.
Regarding IPL 2023’s ad revenue, Redseer estimates that a total of Rs 10,000 crore was spent on advertisements, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), franchises, and broadcasters earning 65 percent of the total spend as direct revenue. The remaining 35 percent of indirect revenue was earned through ad revenue by social media platforms, traditional media, and other internet platforms.