People all over the world love playing games on their mobile phones. One can often find individuals or groups of friends glued to their mobile phones playing online games. One of the most popular types of online games is fantasy sports. To the uninitiated, a fantasy sport is a game where a player has to create a virtual team of real-world players going to play in an upcoming match. The player’s virtual team competes with other players’ virtual teams based on the real-world players’ statistical performance in the said match. The popularity of fantasy sports increases manifold when reputed sports events like the IPL, the Cricket World Cup, etc., take place.
The boom in online gaming, especially fantasy sports, didn’t happen overnight. The credit has to be given to the growing digital infrastructure and the rising disposable income of India’s middle class over the last decade. We have seen tremendous growth in the number of fantasy sports players and the number of fantasy sports operators in the past one decade in India.
As per a report published by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports, the Indian fantasy sports market has seen a 700% increase in the number of fantasy sports operators and a 2500% increase in the number of fantasy sports players in the last decade. The gross fantasy sports revenue for FY20 stood at a whopping INR 2400 crores. It is expected that the revenue will bump up to INR 27,750 crores by the end of 2024.
Big investment flowed into the Indian fantasy sports ecosystem in 2017-18. There was a massive surge in the total number of fantasy sports operators that year, and everyone was riding on the success of the IPL to generate revenue. Year on year, the IPL has broken all viewership records, proving that sports lovers’ interest in it is only rising. The last IPL had 405 million viewers engaged in the league, as reported by BARC. This interest in IPL boosts the engagement on fantasy sports platforms, especially fantasy cricket apps.
Howzat, a popular fantasy cricket app, has been operating for the last few years, but it was during the previous IPL when it picked up the pace. Having acquired and won the trust of more than 80 lakh players, Howzat is slowly becoming the preferred fantasy sports app for cricket lovers in India. Players simply need to download the app and they can play whenever they want to.
One might wonder what’s driving Howzat’s remarkable growth. So here are the major factors contributing to the app’s growth.
- Legendary Brand Ambassadors
Howzat is being endorsed by cricket legends like India’s sixer king, Yuvraj Singh, ace swing bowler Irfan Pathan, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara and the explosive Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard. When a fantasy sports app is backed by such legends of the game, the app is bound to witness massive growth.
- Amazing Prizes and Rewards
The key reason for Indians enjoying fantasy cricket is the opportunity to win cash prizes and rewards. There are many contests available for every match hosted by Howzat, which gives players an opportunity to win big cash prizes by joining with a small entry fee. For example, in “Beat the Legend” contests on Howzat, the user gets an opportunity to test their skills against cricket legends and win 2X cash prizes by beating the legend’s team.
- Fun and Excitement
Howzat offers a wide range of fantasy contests and sports to its players. Players are spoilt for choice with fantastic matches ranging from T10 to Test cricket and notable contests like Guaranteed Leagues, 10X Multiplier, etc available on the platform. This increases engagement on the app. Players keep coming back to find new and exciting matches and contests on offer.
- Offers and Promotions
Howzat regularly offers its players fantastic bonuses and other benefits, which increases a player’s probability of winning. Howzat’s referral bonus system is one of the best in the industry, which has resulted in referrals being one of the most prominent channels of acquisition for the app.
Knowing that India is a cricket-crazy nation, fantasy cricket apps like Howzat provide a meaningful avenue for cricket fans to connect with their favorite sport. It will be interesting to see how fantasy sports operators innovate in an ever-growing and ever-changing market in the coming years.
