Fantasy sports have been around for much longer than what most people think. However, they started gaining popularity only recently, which is why many think they are a relatively new phenomenon. In any case, it seems that fantasy sports are here to stay, as their popularity shows no signs of slowing down.
They are gaining more and more fans worldwide because, even though they are fantasy, they are closely related to the real world. You can make your own team using favorite players, but your team’s success depends on the performance of those players in the real world.
Therefore, even though you need some luck to be good at fantasy sports, you also need a lot of skills and knowledge to make the right choices.
What Do Future Trends Show?
At the moment, fantasy sports have tens of millions of daily active users globally. The majority of them are based in the US and Canada. However, South Africa isn’t too far behind.
Is this just a temporary hobby for them, or do they plan to continue playing fantasy sports for a long time?
According to an infographic about fantasy sports, around 80% of today’s players intend to continue playing fantasy sports in the next 10 years.
In addition, 40% of today’s avid fantasy sports players claim that they will continue to play for the rest of their lives. And why wouldn’t they? Fantasy sports is only going to become better and more sophisticated as time goes by.
Thanks to these predictions, the total amount of annual entry fees for fantasy sports is expected to reach $5.3 billion by 2020. By the end of the next decade, that number is going to continue to grow exponentially.
Is Fantasy Sports the Same as Betting?
This distinction is an important factor that will determine how fast fantasy sports will grow in the future. Is it the same as sports betting, or is it just another form of gambling?
The answer to both is no, as there are many differences amongst betting, gambling, and fantasy sports. Even though luck plays some role in fantasy sports, skill is still more important.
Fantasy sports requires more analysis than sports betting and more insight into stats and data. When you’re doing sports betting, no amount of data and analysis will help you if the team you bet on had a bad day. On the other hand, the situation in fantasy sports relies on real-world data, but it is not as volatile.
The Skyrocketing Popularity of Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports do not have nearly as many active players as fantasy sports have, but all of that might change quite soon. Namely, at the moment, there are around 10 million registered daily fantasy sports users, 4.7 million of which play DFS exclusively.
The DFS market is expected to reach $1.18 billion by 2020 and continue to grow in the years to come. The players in the DFS league are expected to spend around $5.3 billion by 2021, which is a huge accomplishment for DFS, considering it’s relatively new.
DFS might even surpass fantasy sports as it takes less time to know the winner, and there’s a possibility to win up to $1 million. Moreover, the results are more predictable, as injuries do not matter and cannot ruin your whole season like they can in fantasy sports.
All of this makes daily fantasy sports very attractive and will surely have a positive impact on its growth in the following years.
