Fantasy sports, also known as fantasy esports, has suddenly become a conversation starter in many offices and public places. In the last decade, around 60 fantasy sports platforms emerged in the country.
6 Startups That Shake Online Fantasy Sports
The capital keeps coming in through many prominent international VCs. One big platform for fantasy gaming in India is Dream 11, which is now worth $1.1 billion after the recent fundraiser via Steadview Capital.
This startup presently contains 90% of the domestic fantasy gaming market, as per the report of the KPMG and the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG). As per the sector experts, the success inspires many entrepreneurs to witness fantasy sports as a good business proposition.
It will provide many monetization opportunities while the paid players are only around 15% of the startup’s overall 51 million user base.
However, it may be shifting with fantasy sports becoming highly competitive with passing days. Meanwhile, this trend began with cricket blending with the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.
Nowadays, many sports are available for playing online, such as football, kabaddi, hockey, pool, carrom, basketball, badminton, and more.
According to the IFSG-KPMG report, there are around 20 million fantasy sports players in the country. In 2016, the number was only two million. But with the mass penetration of the 4G network triggered by Reliance Jio, fantasy gaming became even more popular in India.
The market is estimated to touch around $5 billion in the coming two years. The IFSG mentions four out of five sports lovers in India are aware of fantasy sports today. It is expected that 100 million people are likely to take one or more fantasy gaming platforms by the end of this year.
Here are the six popular startups shaking up online fantasy league in India:
1. Dream11
Backed by Tencent, Dream 11 is a big fantasy gaming startup in India. In 2019, BCCI signed up this platform as IPL’s official partner for online fantasy gaming until 2022. It is not the only validation for this platform but also for many other companies in the fantasy sports sector in the country.
Established in 2012 by Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain, Dream11 lets players create imaginary teams and also earn cash while playing. The cash is earned by means of the selected player’s actual match performance. Every good move will get players cash rewards. This platform offers around 15-20% chances of winning.
This Mumbai-based startup appears to double the user base up to 100 million by the end of this year. What’s best about this online fantasy gaming platform is that it offers many games for participants to play and earn cash at the same time.
2. Mobile Premier League (MPL)
MPL, funded by Sequoia, is a recent startup in the country’s fantasy sports industry. It is increasing at a lightning speed with over 10 million users who joined the platform in only 7 to 8 months.
The Bengaluru-based company’s fastest-growing fantasy sports platform, MPL is also the number one app in Google Play Store’s “casual” category.
Established by Shubham Malhotra and Srinivas Kiran Garimella in 2018, this app-based online platform enables users to participate in skill-based games to win real rewards.
During 2019 IPL, they even rope in the Indian Cricket Team’s Captain Virat Kohli as their brand ambassador. This brought in more users to the platform for playing various fantasy sports.
3. HalaPlay
Founded in 2017, Mumbai-based HalaPlay startup by BITS Pilani alumni Prateek Anand, Swapnil Saurav, Aman Kesari and Ananya Singhal is also a popular fantasy gaming platform. The startup even raised around $5 million in Series A from Nazettingara technologies, the world mobile-gaming leader, and Delta Corp.
In 2017, the company raised more money from Kae and Nazara Capital. The platform uses machine learning, as well as data analytics, for helping gamers observe their playing patterns. Meanwhile, they can improve their skill for earning more rewards.
The regular fantasy sports platform mentioned around 10x user base growth in the past 12 months. It is estimated to grow more during the upcoming IPL seasons. Right now, it has over 4 million players. And, the platform takes around 10 to 15% of each player’s earnings.
4. BalleBaazi
BalleBaazi formed at the beginning of 2018 is another popular fantasy gaming platform. This platform is dedicated to cricket. Founded by Saurabh Chopra, this Delhi-based startup gains around one million users monthly.
Indian’s love for cricket and various high-profile tournaments in the country is likely to drive more growth to this platform. Unlike other competitors, BalleBaazi lets users create their private teams, as well as invite just the ones they want to interact with.
The startup even bagged around $1 million funding Baazi Games (its parent company). It also plans to use it for expanding its verticals.
5. My11Circle
My11Circle is one of the youngest fantasy gaming platforms in India. It is presently the only platform that offers real-time match scores in its app. Established in January 2019 by Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy (both are Play Games24x7 founders), My11Circle is focused on both domestic and international cricket matches. However, it will add more sports in the coming years.
Many fantasy players love this platform due to less competition and more chances to get better rewards. If you are new to fantasy gaming and want to give it a shot, it is a great and easy-to-use platform.
6. GamingMonk
GamingMonk is a Delhi-based esports company founded in 2014 by Amity University graduates, Ashwin Haryani and Abhay Sharma. It started as a marketplace for PC gaming titles, consoles and other accessories.
But in 2017, it jumped into the esports tournament platform. The startup got its seed investment of around $5 million from Stellaris Venture Partners, Rajan Anandan, Smile Group, AdvantEdge and Japan’s Incubate Fund.
GamingMonk also got a big and strategic investment of around $100,000 through GameWink, a Japanese gaming company. This startup runs on almost all platforms – console, mobile and PC. It also claims to increase its user base by 500% in the past six months.
Conclusion
So, these are some popular fantasy sports startups in India. These startups have given a new meaning to the world of online fantasy sports in our country. So, try any of these platforms if you’re a sports freak and want to try fantasy gaming online.
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