Every day, millions of sports fans worldwide put their knowledge to the test by competing in fantasy sports. Fantasy sports allow players to select players and earn points, even money, based on their fantasy team’s performance. While many compete in leagues for fun, it’s become increasingly common for players to compete in tournaments for big cash payouts.
With all the hype surrounding fantasy sports, you may be wondering which are the most popular. We’re here to tell you. Keep reading to learn all about the most popular fantasy sports around the world.
American Football
To many sports fans, especially in the US, fantasy sports are synonymous with fantasy football. And there’s a reason for this. Fantasy football far outranks its closest competitors—fantasy basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. Nearly one in five NFL fans have played fantasy football, and 78% of all fantasy sports participants play fantasy football. In the US, there are around 40 million daily players.
Among the countless websites and apps dedicated to fantasy sports, Fanduel has an extensive list of fantasy sports to choose from, including fantasy football. The site offers competition against other players and real money games. Players can also sign up for the Fanduel Sportsbook Review to make the most of the free bets offered to new users.
Even the NFL has embraced fantasy football, helping to drive up its popularity. Fantasy football leagues mirror the NFL experience, with players participating in a draft to select stars to play for their team. What’s more, in NFL fantasy leagues, only one team can select each player, so fantasy managers must be strategic in their choices.
Football (United Kingdom)
Although not quite as popular as fantasy football in the US, fantasy football in the UK (better known as “soccer” to American audiences) boasts over 8 million players, with continued growth expected. It makes sense that so many people play fantasy football, considering football is the world’s most popular sport.
While many fans participate in private leagues, the Premier League’s official fantasy platform is becoming increasingly popular with fans. It is, after all, one of the most well-known leagues globally. On the platform, you’ll find all types of fans creating leagues with friends and acquaintances. Best of all, participants get to track how their teams rank against users worldwide.
Unlike NFL fantasy football, fantasy Premier League participants can choose any player they want to be on their team, and multiple teams can choose the same players. This difference makes it possible for the Premier League platform to create a global ranking. Moreover, fans can truly put together their fantasy lineup made up of the very best players. Of course, it makes it more challenging to stand out among the competition, because many teams choose similar players.
Cricket (India)
While fantasy football dominates the US and the UK, Fantasy Cricket is India’s most popular fantasy sport. With almost half of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion people watching the sport a year, it’s little surprise that fantasy cricket has taken off. According to a joint study conducted by KPMG and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports in 2019, there are currently about 100 million fantasy cricket players, with the number expected to quadruple over the next decade. As it stands, the fantasy cricket market in India already dwarfs the fantasy market in the UK and US.
The benefits of fantasy sports are many, and players in India are certainly taking advantage of them. Dream 11 is India’s most popular fantasy cricket game. In this game, fans create their 11-player dream team from the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament. Although cricket’s rules aren’t the easiest to master, the game makes it easy with a scoring system where players get one point for each run and 25 points for a wicket. If players hit sixes, score centuries, or hit the stumps for a run-out, bonus points await them.