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Fantasy sports frenzy grips city
Fans can earn with their knowledge of cricket, football, hockey, basketball and kabaddi; they can earn lakhs in prize money by playing online games with imaginary teams with real players. Although the phenomenon is popular in the West, it has just touched Chennai.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
For decades, ours has been a cricket-crazy country. Hardcore fans tune in to watch games live wherever the team plays, religiously memorising statistics, averages and more. When the IPL happened, the fan base found all the more so reason to devote their time to figuring out team selection, auction rules and powerplay strategies.
But is there any use to knowing all this information besides bragging rights of being a team’s biggest fan? There is today. Welcome to the fast-growing world of fantasy sports where the fan is the winner; a global phenomenon that’s finally come of age in India.
Simply put, it is an online game where participants come up with imaginary teams comprising real players who are part of a sport: cricket, football, hockey, basketball and kabaddi being the most popular. The fantasy teams win points based on the players’ performances in actual games, which are translated into points. At the end of a match, tournament or league, the fantasy team with the highest score wins.
But it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Throughout the course of a cricket or football season, participants trade or exchange and drop players based on their form, value, real-life implications and so on, competing for monthly and annual honours with others globally.
In India, the fanbase for fantasy sports is close to 40 million today, with over 60 companies running these games. It is estimated to hit 100 million by 2020, which would be close to 30 per cent of online sports fans in the country: plenty of potential to grow more. In Chennai, the phenomenon has become the rage for college students and young professionals who see it as a lucrative way to monetise their fandom, and also gain online brownie points!
In 2017, the Indian Federation of Sports and Gaming (IFSG) was formed, the country’s first sports gaming self-regulatory body. John Loffhagen, who was a key figure in formulating rules for the IPL and ISL, was appointed as the President.
Dennis Prabhu, a digital sports analyst from Chennai, who is an ardent IPL fantasy player, has won over Rs 3 lakh in prize money over the years, by dedicating a lot of his time to perfect his strategy. “It is a great stress-buster and enhances the whole sporting experience so much more. It has actually helped convert me from being a casual sports watcher into a hardcore fan. Now, I probably know more about the players than their coach!”
There are fantasy games throughout the years for different leagues in various sports like the Caribbean Premier League, Indian Super League, the Pro Kabaddi League and also series like the current cricket series between India and Australia.
“Some are organised officially by the leagues themselves, others are on platforms like Dream11, FanFight, Daily Fantasy Cricket, etc. But IPL fantasy is most fun as there are so many players and teams to choose from. The IPL fantasy selection parameters are the same as that in real life: a salary cap, fielding four international players, and so on. You can play for fun or for money, which will involve research and time; it’s sportainment at its finest,” he adds.
Even the US professional basketball league National Basketball Association (NBA) has also uses fantasy sports to give Indian sports fans a better connect with the organisation. Many Chennaiites play on global fantasy platforms too, interacting with players across the world. Tickets for overseas matches, official club merchandise and social media fame are just some of the many perks that come with doing well.
Hariharan is a HR manager in Chennai, who regularly plays Fantasy Premier League (FPL), a game that is based around the popular Premier League in English football with clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United. He says, “I started playing Fantasy Premier League because a few friends encouraged me to participate four years ago.
Over the last few years, it has become an integral part of my life. My hectic work schedule does not allow me to take part in any social gatherings or parties, but FPL has rescued me in last few years and helped forget about problems at work. I realised the importance of FPL during the summer and international breaks, when I miss it so much!”
Are fantasy sports the same as gambling?
- In 2017, a player named Varun Gumber said that he has lost Rs 50,000 while playing on the gaming platform Dream11. The loss led him to petition the court to order an investigation into Dream 11 under the Public Gambling Act, 1867 for promoting gambling
- However, the High Court verdict rejected the petition, and ruled that fantasy sports involves a substantial degree of skill, and that the user has to be skilful in monitoring the event, stats and previous records, etc and that it does not amount to gambling
- Dream11 have evolved into India’s biggest online sporting platform, commanding a revenue estimated to be Rs 100 crore, with a user base of over four crore. Ninety per cent of India’s fantasy sports players use the platform, that recently also announced former Indian cricket captain and CSK star Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its brand ambassador
- After a cricket quiz, the best teams go on stage to take part in an auction. Similar to the actual IPL, students choose from a roster of players using virtual currency. “Strategy is everything. Some teams choose only batsmen and then realise they have no money to bid for all-rounders. At other times, a star player like Virat Kohli could pop up later in the auction when teams have less money... so someone gets lucky,” says R Mano Venkatesh, a Chennaiite, who is currently at IIM Kolkata. After playing and winning various fantasy auctions over the years, he is set to even host one soon.
- B Hariharan, a student at MIT, says that the prizes range from anywhere between Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500. “It depends on our cricket trivia knowledge. Key strategies are used in choosing them, as we can’t spend all our money on the well-known players. The trend has caught up now and it’s crazy during IPL season in Chennai, with CSK such a popular team.”
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