Fantasy English Premier League is Big in India
By: Derrick Eckardt | Categories: Fantasy EPL, Fantasy Soccer, India, International
I love reading data, which partly why I have always loved fantasy sports. Within the industry, getting data on international participation is always the hardest. When I read about fantasy gaining in India, it mentioned the growth of fantasy English Premier League (EPL) in India, I could not help but to get excited. Currently, over 38,000 Indians are playing in the official fantasy EPL site, while another 10,000 are playing in ESPN Fantasy EPL League, and another 6,000 are playing the Fantasy Champions League.
50,000 fantasy players is not exactly enough to say that fantasy sports has gone mainstream, but it is a very significant start. In a country with over 1.2B people and a burgeoning middle class, there is definitely a possibility that India may be the next big fantasy market.
The key to figuring out which fantasy sports will do well in international markets is figuring out which real sports do well in those markets. It is highly unlikely that football, baseball, and basketball will be the big fantasy sports. More than likely, soccer, cricket, and rugby will be the dominant fantasy sports overseas.
