Fantasy sports vs Online sports betting!

Summary: The latest wave of fantasy sports is changing fans from mere spectators into stakeholders. What exactly is Fantasy Sports and how is it different from the traditional online sports betting? Discover in this article!

Cricket is a religion in India and so is betting for some. While there was a time when losing or winning a cricket match was the matter of national pride, it means much more than that now. For many Indians (thanks o the growing rage of Fantasy Sports), every misfield, cheap dismissal and a dropped catch in a live match could have a bearing on their finances.

According to a report, published by KPMG and the Indian Federation of Sports Federation (IFSF), 'the user base of fantasy gaming platforms has crossed 70 million Indians in 2018'. Participants who took part in the nascent sport last year, spent around $1.73billion that estimates to be around Rs 11,880 crore in INR.

"Sports betting in India is a $150 billion market. It is important that the government keeps a close eye on how this money is being used," Trigam Mukherjee, co-founder and CEO, Starpick tells ETPanache.   

Fantasy Sports Theory

Ranging from free offerings to paid leagues, the fantasy game companies provide plenty of contests and give users a chance to select a team for upcoming matches from a real-world player pool. Users are credited with points depending on their recent performances.

The individual users can decide and join cash leagues, whereby they stand to win money depending on how their players perform in the game.

How Fantasy Sports is different from Online Sports Betting

When it comes to the comparison of Fantasy Sports and Online Sports Betting, most of the people can hardly differentiate between the two. After all, both offer a great way to make money and profit from your knowledge based on sports. And the basic mechanism of both Fantasy Sports and Online Sports Betting is based on the outcomes of the real sporting events. Because of these strong associations between the two, many people consider them as similar. But the truth is far from this notion.

In online sports betting, as a customer, you can pick the event, how to bet and you can also decide the budget within your limit. But in Fantasy Sports, you are playing against real people or other owners with varying degree of sports knowledge. While in sports betting you win or make profits depending on your wagers, in fantasy sports, it all depends on how your dream team performs in the live match.

Another major difference between fantasy sports and online sports betting is the element of skill. Where placing a wager on the outcome of a match doesn`t require a skill but luck and is beyond the control of the punters, in Fantasy Sports little sports-related knowledge and skill is required. The outcome in fantasy sports mainly depends on the performance of the user`s virtual team.

Fantasy Sports v/s Online Sports Betting

• - Freedom to Choose Wagers – In online sports betting you will have plenty of choices and a wider range of sports and wager types to choose from. Popular sports betting sites like betway, 22bet, and 1xbet or any other regular sportsbook sites offer dozens of distinct sports to choose from. Apart from that, there are other additional ways to wager, like props, parlays and other exotics.

• But in Fantasy Sports, the options are few and choices are limited. Fantasy Sports sites cover only two or three sports markets. Although regular punters in online sports betting focus on just one or two sports, they still get more choices than fantasy sports players.

• - Multiple Betting Sites- The best thing about online sports betting is that there are dozens of major betting sites across the globe that are competing for customers. A cut-throat competition between the bookmakers' websites means competitive features, more rewards, amazing bonus offers and lots of other appealing choices for the betters.

• - As there are lots of websites to choose from when it comes to online sports betting, betters can shop around to find the best site that fits the bill. One can find a great degree of variations in prices for matches as a strategy, and that is only available because of the large number of different books and competition in the market. Unfortunately, in Fantasy Sports League only Dream11, Starpick, Fantain and Myteam11 are the only known names, and the choices are rather scarce.

• - Online Sports Betting is more Profitable: When you enter a daily fantasy sports league, you are playing against your opponents. These people are highly skilled, and some of them would be excellent at their gameplay, which will make it difficult for you to beat them. This is essentially the main reason why online sports betting is more profitable than the fantasy sports league.

• - Low Commission: Both online sports betting and fantasy sports charge commission from its users. But while daily fantasy sports sites usually keep a 10% commission on every game before paying out cash prizes and bookmakers in online gambling also charge commission, the net amount is usually lower in the latter than the former one.

• - Requires Less Research: Just like any other sports betting, a little knowledge and research can help you out in making large profits in the long run, online sports betting requires a narrow statistical view. In DFS, you might be required some in-depth knowledge about the selected players and the sports to come up with a good strategy. Whereas in online gambling, you will need little information along with a bit of luck.

• - No Middle-man: Fantasy Sports League sites make money by acting as a middle-man and take their commission off every tournament fee payment. But in online sports betting, you pit against professional bookmakers, who guarantee you a profit for the book.

Legality involved

Unlike traditional betting and gambling that are banned in different Indian states depending on the local laws according to the colonial-era Public Gambling Act, 1867; fantasy sports and online sports betting fall in the grey area.

Excerpts:> If you are thinking about if you should go for Fantasy Sports or online sports betting then both of them have their charms, advantages, and disadvantages. Both are profitable and a growing industry in India with a large network of customers and commercial support. Although both the platforms are web-based, they are completely different and profitable. However, the potential profits in online sports betting are much larger, as is the wide range of sports and betting styles that are available in online gambling. As you are wagering against the real person in fantasy sports, which does not make it a level playing field. But there is no reason why you can`t take part in both the leagues, as it requires a set of skills to make some profits and win money. Hence, if you want to try your skills and luck at both, the above-mentioned information and opinion will definitely help you make a decision.