Fantasy sports may zoom to ₹1.65L crore by FY25
NEW DELHI: A growing techsavvy millennial population, increased affiliation with sports, rapid smartphone penetration, and the availability of low-cost mobile data, will propel India’s fantasy sports market to ₹1,65,000 crore by FY25 from the current ₹34,000 crore at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38%, said a report by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), an industry body, and Deloitte.
India is the world’s biggest fantasy sports market with a user base of over 13 crore people, said the report titled ‘Fantasy Sports: Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Sports Development’. Close to 30% of the current registered user base on fantasy sports platforms in India is estimated to be women, unlike in other parts of the world where fantasy sports users are predominantly male who account for 67% of the total revenue generated. This number is expected to consistently rise in the next few years.
Revenue of about ₹5,200 crore has been generated from fantasy sports in FY21 and an indirect revenue of approximately ₹5,500 crore is also likely to have been created through vendors and service providers, according to the report.
Goods and services tax, income tax on winnings, and corporate tax paid by fantasy sports operators has grown more than 10 fold over the past three years to ₹1,450 crore in FY21, the report said. Income tax on prize winning money from this fantasy sport is taxable at 30%, excluding cess and surcharge. The taxation is also likely to increase along with the growth in the overall market size. The projected cumulative tax contribution by the industry is ₹24,300 crore by FY25, according to the report.
Cricket, the dominant sports on fantasy sports platforms, may see its share going to other sports such as kabaddi, hockey, football, and volleyball which are growing in popularity. However, it is expected to continue growing at 30% CAGR over the next four years and remain the highest contributor to the overall revenue of the fantasy sports industry, the report said.
Women’s cricket has also gained popularity among fantasy sports players. The first 12 matches of the 2020 ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup generated 4.1 crore viewing hours in India, a 213% increase from 2018. During phase 1 of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) alone, the fantasy sports industry user base in India has grown by more than 20 lakh users. Half the user transactions on fantasy sports platforms have been driven by tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the report said.
“Fantasy sports is creating highly skilled jobs, attracting foreign direct investment and generating significant revenue for the exchequer,” said FIFS CEO Anwar Shirpurwala.
Online fantasy sports have, over the past years, witnessed unparalleled growth and widespread acceptance among Indian sports fans, said Prashanth Rao, partner at Deloitte India.