Redseer Consulting has assessed that in this IPL season, the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) from fantasy sports could go up to Rs 2,900 – 3,100 crore with a growth rate of 30-35% from 2022.

The number of transacting users in this IPL season is supposed to be around 68 million, a 25-30% increment from 2022. Approximately 80% of the users will hail from small cities.

In 2022, the GGR was Rs 2,260 crore and the number of transacting users was 55 million.

“Steep growth in fantasy sports gaming will come from tier 2 cities driven by increasing adoption of fantasy platforms and cross migration of users from other games. Increased internet accessibility will give a push to the IPL economy. Our estimates suggest that the average revenue per user is expected to grow from Rs 410 in IPL 2022 to Rs 440 in IPL 2023,” said Ujjwal Chaudhry, partner, of Redseer Strategy Consultants.

A mix of variables, for example, the rising number of pay-to-play gaming platforms, an increase in market spending by these organizations and clarity of regulations are among the development drivers.

“Awareness about fantasy gaming platforms is rapidly rising with more and more platforms offering easy access to the game type. Many new and upcoming platforms such as Crickpe, Gamezy and Howzatt are trying to improve their presence in the market which will also bring more users,” the report said.

As per the report, Google has permitted fantasy platforms to be accessible on Google Play Store under a pilot program. This will additionally expand the number of transacting users during the IPL 2023. Most platforms started their promotion before the commencement of IPL to acquire and convert new users on the platform.

Redseer Strategy Consultants director Saurav Chachan said: “There has been an increase in efforts to make platforms more secure and reliable. Measures such as RNG (random number generator) certification and secure payment gateways increase the user trust in these platforms.”

In December, the Centre had advised alterations to the Allocation of Business Rules whereby the IT ministry was chosen as the nodal ministry for online gaming, while the sports department under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was made the nodal Ministry for Esports.

Credit: The Telegraph