Fantasy Gaming on Steroids? Contrasting Fantasy Sport Participation by Daily Fantasy Sport Participation

Abstract

The fantasy sport industry has grown rapidly in the past decade, now boasting 56 million participants in North America alone. More recently, the ascent of fantasy sport appears directly attributable to the rise of new websites offering daily/weekly fantasy games. This study surveys 438 fantasy participants-some who play traditional fantasy sports and others who participate in daily fantasy sports along with traditional forms of fantasy offerings. Results reveal that motivations for play do not differ between traditional and daily participants, yet the two sets of respondents differed in terms of media consumption, economic commitment, and perceptions of games being skill versus chance based. Ramifications are offered not only based on the differences in financial investment but also regarding the seeming downturn in motivations for traditional fantasy sport participation.

A qualitative exploration of the positive and negative experiences of individuals who play fantasy football

“…Even within the population of fantasy sports players, differences exist between 'daily fantasy sports' (DFS) players (a more intense form of the game almost always involving financial investment/rewards and where matches often occur every day) and traditional players. Engaging in formats such as DFS has been shown to increase likelihood of gambling [31] and increase the number of hours per week spent consuming fantasy-sports-related content [2].…”

“…The work by Billings et al, [2] also compared the motivations of DFS and traditional players. No significant differences were found in any of the reasons for participation, with both groups ranking competition, social reasons, and arousal as the top three motivational factors.…”

The Evolving Landscape of Sports Betting: A Risk for Young People?

“…Skill-based processes and sports knowledge (e.g., statistics, injury, player drafts, trades) play a critical role in fantasy game participation (e.g., Davis and Duncan 2006). As these games are considered as skill-based games (i.e., unlike traditional gambling involving mainly games of chance), adolescents can legally be involved in these gambling-related activities (Billings et al 2016). Some concerns have been expressed regarding the accelerated nature of fees and other DFS features that might promote excessive play and related harm in young people (e.g., Nelson et al 2019).…”

Measuring Fantasy Team and Favorite Team Interactivity Through Implicit Association

“…Lastly, football is only one of many forms of fantasy sports. Not only are forms worthy of inquiry (e.g., baseball, basketball, or hockey), daily fantasy sports also provide for a potentially important context for examination (Billings, Ruihley, & Yang, 2017).…”