With the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League 2023 season which began at the end of March, it is expected that fantasy sports gaming companies — that let users play virtual strategy cricket — will earn anywhere between ₹2,900-3,100 crore in this calendar year of 2023. The business of these companies is expected to shoot up as during this time many more users engage with the apps, said a new report by Red Seer Strategy Consultants.

The revenue per year in the calendar year 2019, according to the company’s estimates, was ₹990 crore. Over 50% of fantasy cricket platform users are coming from tier 2 cities and another 30% from beyond tier 2 markets. This is because there is increasing internet accessibility and penetration making it easier for the masses to be able to use gaming platforms thus providing a push to the industry.

The company said since its inception in 2008, the private cricket league has garnered a viewership of 460 million. It said the league’s offshoots spread into the virtual world in the form of fantasy leagues. Fantasy cricket allows users to create virtual IPL teams of real cricketers playing in the season. Points are earned based on the performance of their players in actual matches, with the platforms offering lucrative prize money to the users.

Ujjwal Chaudhry, partner at the firm said: “The steep growth in fantasy sports gaming is expected to come from tier-II cities driven by increasing adoption of fantasy platforms and cross-migration of users from other games. Increased internet accessibility will also give a push to the IPL economy. The average revenue per user is expected to grow from ₹410 from last season to ₹440 in IPL 2023.” This figure was around ₹310 in 2019 and the average spending per user was calculated on the average amount spent per user during the IPL days.

The growth in the industry is despite the fact that many of these companies have pulled back on sponsorships this cricket season owing to a funding winter.