Fantasy sports
Fantasy sports traces its roots back to the late 50s and is today a $10bn industry with over 60 million practitioners in North America alone. Fantasy sports is an online game where end-users compile virtual teams of professional players of a particular sport. It is a so called skill game where players get to show off their skills in a particular sport and compete with others for common price pools. The majority of sports are today available as fantasy sports, such as soccer, hockey, golf, cricket and basketball.
The fantasy sports market has displayed double digit growth for some time and it is driven by several factors: the emergence of new game formats (e.g daily fantasy sports) combined with the increasing mobile penetration which today account for close to 50% of all gameplay. Another driver is the social element, where end-users get to ‘show off’ their skills and compete with others in an open and friendly environment. The simple fact is that fantasy sports display longer player lifetime and engagement and higher ARPU (average revenue per user) than any other online gaming products.
In Europe, fantasy sports is rapidly gaining traction and is by many believed to be the next era in online gaming. The social nature aligns well with the modern day interest in social media and the ability to market via social media is a powerful strategy.