Fantasy sports platforms clocked Rs 8,800 crore ($1.038 billion) in revenue in 2024, down from Rs 11,000 crore in 2023, according to a report by consulting firm Redseer.
This is a 58% year-on-year (YoY) decline, which is attributed to a drop in fantasy sports revenue. Other game categories, such as poker (up 54%), rummy (up 26%), and casual games (up 71%), all saw growth in 2024 in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR).
For the record, fantasy sports platforms earn their revenues through commissions on user contest fees.
However, during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, fantasy sports platforms generated $510 million (Rs 4,325 crore) in GGR, which was a 27% increase from the previous year. The revenue growth was due to a 20% increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) and a 6% increase in unique transacting users.
Some factors that contributed to the growth of fantasy gaming during IPL 2024 include:
*Increased cash prizes
*A 2.8X increase in daily active cash users
*A 2.3X growth in GGR
*Prizes for the top spot reaching between $375k and $500k
*Promotion of regional celebrities and influencers along with cricketers and Bollywood celebrities
Overall revenue matrix
*While fantasy sports revenue fell, rummy’s GGR grew to Rs 16,000cr last year, up around 6% from Rs 15,000cr in 2023.
*Poker’s GGR, on the other hand, grew to Rs 2,100cr from Rs 1,800cr in 2023.
*Casual games reported a GGR of Rs 4,300cr in 2024, up from Rs 3,300cr a year ago.
Meanwhile, fantasy sports grew 28% month-on-month in November, reaching Rs 550cr, despite a YoY decline. Growth was driven by more matches in international leagues including Big Bash and higher engagement in India versus South Africa.
GST pain points
The report pointed out that improving Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) levels has become a key focus for online gaming platforms due to revised GST regulations in the October-November-December period of 2023.
NGR improved from OND quarter 2023 to reach 35 percent of GGR in July-August-September 2024, despite a 192% increase in GST taxations.
Marketing expenses were also reduced to enhance profitability at an industry level.
