What Are The Most Popular Fantasy Sports Globally?
Fantasy sports is one of the most cherished activities by sports enthusiasts worldwide. There are more than 40 million fantasy sports players in the US alone. Like online sports betting, this is a very popular activity worldwide. While there are diverse kinds of fantasy sports, you may wonder, what are the most popular ones globally?
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The most renowned of these sports are not unusual or strange to us, and if you’re a sports fan, you should be acquainted with some or all of them. In the sections below, we have carefully curated everything you must know about the most popular versions of fantasy sports.
1. American Football (US)
American football dominates the United States and is even considered the most popular sport in North America. It has a fan base of more than 35 million players, larger than every other virtual sport like fantasy ice hockey, Baseball, and Basketball.
Initially, fantasy leagues weren’t officially adopted and didn’t have any direct affiliation with the National Football League (NFL). However, the NFL recently accepted the concept of American fantasy football, and now about 78% of fantasy players in the US play fantasy football.
In 2019, DraftKings emerged as the first official partner to collaborate with the virtual sport. In 2021, the NFL also permitted users to begin betting on sports after signing some contracts with gambling operators for a sum of $1 billion. The deals enabled the operator’s access to the original content and data of the NFL, plus a presence in the NFL.
2. Football/Soccer (UK)
While America holds Virtual American Football as the most renowned sport, the United Kingdom recognizes Fantasy Soccer. The region has about 8 million active players, and the numbers are still increasing. Though many players patronize their unique fantasy football leagues, the Premier League owns its official fantasy game, the Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Interestingly, football is the most famous sport on earth, with the Premier League being the largest football league. With its global fame, you can easily guess why fans love to play the FPL. In addition, there’s a global team ranking system, and fans can seamlessly add any Premier League Player to their team.
3. Fantasy Cricket
When we move over to the Eastern part of the world to India, the most popular virtual sport there is fantasy cricket. Remarkably, India’s population is circa 1.3 billion people, and nearly 50% of that number are cricket lovers.
According to a recent study from the FIFS and KPMG, India has over 100 million fantasy cricket players. But pundits and analysts believe the value will leap to about 400 million in the next decade.
Dream11 is the most recognized Cricket Fantasy Cricket game that allows users to build their unique 11-player team for the IPL (Indian Premier League) Twenty20 Cricket Championship. The strategy game helps you consider which real-world cricket players — with their respective statistics, are fit to join your team.
4. Fantasy Baseball
Baseball is considered one of Northern America’s foremost and most renowned sports. Although the fans’ interest in the sport has declined, they still play virtual baseball.
Also, fantasy baseball appears to be very interesting, unpredictable, and exciting, as users can’t predict the outcomes of the 162-game seasons. Furthermore, the games heat up as we approach the season finals every October.
5. Fantasy Basketball
One of the world’s most recognized daily fantasy sports is virtual basketball. Since there is a massive population of basketball lovers worldwide, you can expect the virtual games to be the same. Interestingly, one of the most active countries for fantasy basketball is the United States, and it holds a massive population of virtual B-ball lovers.
In fantasy basketball, you assume the role of the GM (General Manager) for the different Basketball teams in the NBA (National Basketball Association). As a GM, you get to select players which you’d buy to your team, and you’d be able to view their statistics and determine if they’re fit to join you.
Conclusion
Fantasy sports offers fans the chance to manage various real-world teams and players worldwide. In addition, gamers can create new clubs and make crucial decisions regarding managing the different teams.
Also, you can easily interact with the teams and perform transactions the way it’s done in the real world of sports. Players can join your team based on free, paid, or hybrid terms.
