How fantasy gaming is providing millennials with huge career opportunities
Fantasy gaming has made sports more interactive, converting the interest of fans, especially millennials, from a passive to an active one.
The gaming mindset is common in millennials. Over much of the past couple of years, fantasy games have been the preserve of sports enthusiasts. Sports nerds spend an excessive amount of time researching players and teams to form the best match i.e. a virtual team.
Fantasy games give a safe and secure platform to the millennials to enjoy their favourite sport at their leisure and win real cash rewards. Millennials are getting attracted to this fantasy gaming world as it offers them a package of thrill and action, real sports experience, which is both fun and rewarding as well as it boosts their skills level.
There is no doubt that fantasy games have hacked the millennial brain by triggering the innate reward systems. Well, who doesn't love games? And if we talk about millennials, they are game enthusiasts. The fact that one can create a virtual team of real-life players in real matches and earn at the same time prompts excitement.
Exponential growth of fantasy games
Over the past few years, fantasy gaming has seen exponential growth. If we talk about fantasy cricket, it is appropriate to say that millennials are crazy about the sport. Fantasy games have made the sport more interactive for its fans and converted them from a passive participant into an active one.
When it comes to sports, be it any game, almost everyone has an opinion on the choice of team formation and the captain. At the time of world tournaments, the same becomes a topic of discussion and debate worldwide. In fantasy sports, fans can make their own team with a captain of their choice and try their luck.
Many fantasy gamers play just for the thrill of socialising and competing with friends and less for the possibility of monetary benefits.
Real zeal for sports enthusiasts
When it comes to sports, millennials are absolute fanatics. The millennial mindset has embraced the concept of fantasy gaming. Fantasy games have become a true source of enthusiasm for the sports nerds worldwide as one can easily follow their passion for a game through a platform that allows them to use their knowledge for the game plus build their skills and strategy.
In the fantasy gaming world, there is an array of sports to choose from: football, hockey, cricket, kabaddi, carrom, badminton, and more.
Fantasy sports, which began in the US and Europe, initially focussed on games such as baseball and football but over time, cricket has seen a huge boom, especially in India. The market for fantasy gaming in India is newer and different. Unlike the US and Europe, where sports enthusiasts sign up for long haul, people in India are more aligned towards what is called as daily fantasy.
The unbelievable popularity and huge market of fantasy games have their reasons. The fantasy games are convenient to get started with. What makes fantasy gaming so irresistible?
The intense challenges and the excitement that just can't stop at once. After all, who would not get attracted to a smart way to enjoy something he/she is passionate about and win cash as well.
Sportspersons influencing the rise of fantasy games
Well-known sports personalities are endorsing fantasy gaming platforms thus encouraging the millennials to take a turn from spectators to stakeholders. Popular cricketers like M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Saurav Ganguly, just to name a few, are all associated with one or the other fantasy cricket platforms.
It began to undo the perception that fantasy gaming is equivalent to sports betting. Sportspersons, as brand ambassadors, have created a positive reputation for fantasy gaming platforms.
A power-up of Its own kind
Fantasy games, due to its rewarding experience, act as a power-up for sports enthusiasts in its way. Playing fantasy games can never be a dull experience as it is a kind of engagement one can never get tired of. Fantasy games are perhaps one of the most rewarding ways in which one can spend their leisure time. Winning cash rewards and prizes gives a sense of achievement as it makes you feel like you are playing every match with the team.
Future of fantasy games
There has been a rapid rise in the number of fantasy game buffs and it has the potential to establish a new age of gaming. Promoters are fast venturing into startups of online fantasy gaming with a vast prospect of growth.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)
