An estimated 57 million people across the U.S. and Canada played fantasy sports in the past 12 months, with 53 million in the U.S. and 4.2 million in Canada, according to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association’s 2025 research. Combined with sports betting, an estimated 84 million adults across the U.S. and Canada engaged in fantasy or wagering activity, up from 81 million in 2024.
The competitive picture inside that participation pool is shifting fast: ESPN Fantasy holds 48% of fantasy football monthly active users, while Sleeper, PrizePicks, and Underdog post double-digit growth as FanDuel and DraftKings show single-digit MAU gains, per Sensor Tower’s August 2023 to August 2025 dataset. The category looks stable from a participation headline, but underneath that figure, the engagement is migrating toward pick’em and social-first apps, and one regulatory event in India just removed roughly 200 million paying users from the global pool overnight.
The data below covers global participation, demographics, platform share, operator economics, spending behaviour, and the regulatory reshuffle that is rewriting the industry map.
Key Takeaways
- An estimated 57 million people across the U.S. and Canada played fantasy sports in the past 12 months, per the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association.
- More than three-fourths (84%) of fantasy sports players hold a bachelor’s degree, and almost two-thirds (63%) earn more than $50,000 annually.
- ESPN Fantasy commands 48% of fantasy football monthly active users, with Sleeper at 33% and Yahoo Fantasy at 18%.
- DraftKings posted 4.8 million average monthly unique payers in Q4 2024, a 36% year-over-year increase.
- Dream11 has approximately 220 million users in India, with over 70% in the 18-34 age group.
- PrizePicks monthly active users increased 82% year-over-year, with Sleeper up 39% and Underdog up 35%, per Sensor Tower.
- Next-generation fantasy players spend a median of $100 annually on entry fees, with 64% paying league fees and 66% updating lineups daily.
Editor’s Choice
- An estimated 84 million adults across the U.S. and Canada engaged in fantasy sports or sports betting in the past 12 months.
- DraftKings Q4 2024 revenue reached $1,393 million, up 13% from $1,231 million in Q4 2023.
- DraftKings 2024 average monthly unique payers reached 3.7 million, compared with 2.7 million in 2023 and 1.9 million in 2022.
- IPL 2025 drew over a billion total viewers, generating more than 840 billion minutes of watch time.
- Approximately 80% of all fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada are men, with fantasy NFL participation overwhelmingly male at 87%.
- Sleeper has over 4 million users across its season-long and daily fantasy products.
- DraftKings raised its 2025 revenue guidance midpoint to $6.45 billion following the Q4 2024 results.
Recent Developments
- August 2025: Dream11 paused all paid contests on 21 August 2025 after India’s Parliament passed an online gaming bill outlawing real-money games, removing a revenue stream that accounted for over 90% of the platform’s income.
- April 2026: DraftKings announced that its Q1 2026 results will be released on May 7, 2026, and reaffirmed full-year 2026 guidance of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion in revenue and $700 million to $900 million in adjusted EBITDA.
- PrizePicks Arena pivot: PrizePicks shut down its own pick’em contests in California and switched to its P2P version, Arena, with Underdog Sports following the same peer-to-peer pivot.
- February 2025: DraftKings reported Q4 2024 results showing 4.8 million monthly unique payers and $1,393 million in quarterly revenue.
- 2025: The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association presented its 2025 research at the 2025 FSGA Summer Conference in Chicago, reporting an estimated 84 million U.S. and Canadian participants in fantasy sports or sports betting.
- September 2025: Sensor Tower data showed fantasy football monthly active users jumped 40% between August 2023 and August 2025, with PrizePicks up 82% year-over-year.
- Fall 2023: New York banned DFS pick ’em-style contests, affecting Underdog and PrizePicks operations in the state.
Global Fantasy Sports Participation
- An estimated 57 million people played fantasy sports across the U.S. and Canada in the past 12 months.
- U.S. fantasy participation reached 53 million people, with Canadian fantasy participation at 4.2 million.
- Eighteen percent of American adults reported playing fantasy sports in the past year, per FSGA data.
- Nearly three-in-ten U.S. adults (28%), an estimated 73 million people, participated in fantasy sports or sports betting in the past year.
- Combined fantasy and sports-betting participation reached 84 million U.S. and Canadian adults, up from 81 million in 2024.
- Of the 84 million combined participants, 77 million were Americans.
- Sports betting alone reached 66 million participants across both countries: 61 million Americans and 5.1 million Canadians.
- The FSGA’s 2025 figures draw on Angus Reid Group surveys of 2,052 online Americans (January 21 to 29, 2025) plus a two-phase survey of 3,930 U.S. and Canadian adults (May 30 to June 5, 2025).
| Region | Fantasy Players (12-month) | Sports Bettors | Combined |
| United States | 53 million | 61 million | 77 million |
| Canada | 4.2 million | 5.1 million | 7 million |
| North America total | 57 million | 66 million | 84 million |
Source: Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association (Angus Reid Group, 2025)
Headline participation tells half the story. The demographic profile underneath drives every monetisation, advertising, and platform-design decision an operator makes, and it skews male, educated, and middle-income to a degree that surprises non-industry readers.
For deeper coverage of how Gen Z digital habits shape fantasy participation, see our Gen Z social media data page.
North American Player Demographics
- More than three-fourths (84%) of fantasy sports players hold a bachelor’s degree, per FSGA demographic data.
- Almost two-thirds (63%) of fantasy sports players make more than $50,000 annually.
- Roughly 80% of all fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada are men.
- Fantasy NFL players are overwhelmingly men at 87%.
- Nearly one in five (17%) of NFL fans played fantasy football in the last 12 months, the highest rate of any U.S. sports fanbase.
- Fan-base fantasy participation in the NBA, MLB, and NHL ranges between 7% and 11%.
- In India, Dream11 reports that over 70% of users fall in the 18-34 age bracket.
| Demographic Segment | Share of Players | Source |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 84% | FSGA |
| Annual income above $50,000 | 63% | FSGA |
| Male (overall U.S. + Canada) | ~80% | YouGov |
| Male (NFL fantasy specifically) | 87% | YouGov |
| Next-gen players (daily lineup updates) | 66% | FSGA |
Source: Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, YouGov
The persistent gender gap is the most cited diversification target within the industry. Closing it remains a slow project: every consecutive FSGA report since 2020 has shown the male share above 75%, and the structural reasons (sports media exposure, locker-room recruiting patterns, prize-pool design) have not materially shifted.
Sport-Type Breakdown: NFL Leads, Cricket Surges
- American football leads U.S. fantasy participation by fan-base penetration, with 17% of NFL fans playing fantasy football in the past 12 months.
- Fantasy participation among NBA, MLB, and NHL fan bases hovers between 7% and 11% of each sport’s fans.
- Dream11 leads Indian fantasy sports with approximately 220 million users in India.
- IPL 2025 drew over a billion total viewers, with more than 840 billion minutes of watch time.
- The Federation of Fantasy Sports in India reports that 89% of Dream11 users play at least once a month, and 75% are under 35.
Fantasy Football Platform MAU Share
- ESPN Fantasy commands 48% of fantasy football monthly active users, per Sensor Tower’s August 2025 measurement.
- Sleeper holds 33% of fantasy football monthly active users.
- Yahoo Fantasy holds 18% of fantasy football monthly active users.
- Monthly active users across the fantasy football cohort jumped 40% between August 2023 and August 2025.
- FanDuel and Sleeper each averaged 14 minutes of daily time spent during the measurement period, leading engagement metrics across the betting ecosystem.
- Sleeper has over 4 million users across its product portfolio.
For a broader gaming engagement context, see our Roblox player data page.
Daily Fantasy Sports Operator Metrics
- DraftKings Q4 2024 revenue reached $1,393 million, up 13% from $1,231 million in Q4 2023.
- DraftKings Q4 2024 monthly unique payers averaged 4.8 million, an increase of 36% compared with Q4 2023.
- DraftKings Q4 2024 average revenue per monthly unique payer was $97, a 16% decrease year-over-year.
- Excluding the impact of the Jackpocket acquisition, DraftKings ARPMUP decreased approximately 4% year-over-year in Q4 2024.
- DraftKings full-year 2024 average MUPs reached 3.7 million, compared with 2.7 million in 2023 and 1.9 million in 2022.
- Full-year 2024 ARPMUP was $106, compared with $113 in 2023 and $96 in 2022.
- DraftKings raised its 2025 revenue guidance midpoint to $6.45 billion alongside the Q4 2024 results.
| Metric | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Q4 2024 |
| Average MUPs | 1.9M | 2.7M | 3.7M | 4.8M |
| ARPMUP | $96 | $113 | $106 | $97 |
| Quarterly revenue (Q4) | n/a | $1,231 million | n/a | $1,393 million |
Source: DraftKings Inc. Q4 2024 8-K filing
By the numbers: According to DraftKings’ Q4 2024 8-K filing, the company reached 4.8 million average monthly unique payers in the fourth quarter of 2024, a 36% year-over-year increase, while average revenue per payer fell to $97 (down 16% YoY). The MUP gain reflected the Jackpocket acquisition; excluding Jackpocket, ARPMUP slipped only 4%, suggesting healthy core retention.
Operator scale tells the legacy story. The growth story now sits with pick’em formats and social-first apps that bypass the heavy DFS contest infrastructure entirely.
Pick’em Surge: PrizePicks, Underdog, and Sleeper
- PrizePicks’ monthly active users increased 82% year-over-year through August 2025, per Sensor Tower.
- Sleeper’s monthly active users grew 39% year-over-year over the same period.
- Underdog’s monthly active users expanded 35% year-over-year.
- FanDuel posted only 3% year-over-year MAU growth, with DraftKings at 5%, per the same Sensor Tower dataset.
- PrizePicks shut down its own pick’em contests in California and switched to its P2P version, branded Arena.
- Underdog Sports moved its California fantasy offerings to a peer-to-peer-only format, retaining its Champions pick’em variant.
For the adjacent gaming-platform context, see our console market share page.
The growth gap is wide enough that “fantasy sports” as a single category masks two divergent businesses. Legacy DFS books are scaling slowly while pick’em and social apps capture the new entrants, especially Gen Z players whose first exposure is more likely to be a TikTok ad for a one-tap props game than a season-long league sign-up.
Dream11 and India’s Fantasy Cricket Economy
- Dream11 has approximately 220 million users in India.
- Over 70% of Dream11 users fall in the 18-34 age group.
- The Federation of Fantasy Sports in India reports that 89% of users play at least once a month, with 75% under 35.
- IPL 2025 generated more than 840 billion minutes of watch time across over a billion viewers.
- On 21 August 2025, Dream11 paused all paid contests after India’s Parliament passed an online gaming bill outlawing real-money games.
- The paid-contest pause removed a revenue stream that accounted for over 90% of Dream11’s income.
| Metric | Value |
| Indian users | ~220 million |
| Users aged 18-34 | Over 70% |
| Users playing at least once a month | 89% |
| IPL 2025 watch time | 840+ billion minutes |
| Paid-contest revenue share (pre-Aug 2025) | Over 90% |
Source: Dream11 corporate disclosures, Federation of Fantasy Sports in India
Key finding: Dream11 has approximately 220 million Indian users, more than 70% of them aged 18-34, per company disclosures. On 21 August 2025 the platform paused all paid contests after India’s Parliament passed an online gaming bill outlawing real-money games, a single legislative event that removed over 90% of Dream11’s revenue stream and reshaped the global fantasy paying-user count overnight.
Regulation reshapes who plays. Spending data tells you what the remaining players will pay for.
Player Spending and Engagement Patterns
- Next-generation fantasy players spend a median of $100 annually on fantasy sports, per FSGA research.
- 64% of next-gen fantasy players pay league entry fees.
- 66% of next-gen players update their lineups daily.
- Roughly 60% of fantasy sports players and sports bettors pay for either live sports packages or premium content.
- Live-sports and premium-content spending averages $119 per year for fantasy players and $129 per year for sports bettors.
- DraftKings’ FY2024 average revenue per monthly unique payer (ARPMUP) reached $106.
For context on broader subscription-economy patterns, see our Spotify user data page.
Mobile vs Desktop Fantasy Engagement
- FanDuel and Sleeper each averaged 14 minutes of daily time spent in the app, the leading engagement metric across the betting and fantasy ecosystem.
- Fantasy football monthly active users grew 40% between August 2023 and August 2025.
- DraftKings reported Q4 2024 ARPMUP of $97 (down 16% YoY) and full-year 2024 ARPMUP of $106, with the Jackpocket acquisition contributing to the year-over-year MUP gain.
- Dream11 reports approximately 220 million users in India.
- Sleeper has over 4 million users across its season-long and daily fantasy products.
| Metric | Value | Notes |
| FanDuel daily time in app | 14 minutes | Sensor Tower |
| Sleeper daily time in app | 14 minutes | Sensor Tower |
| Fantasy football MAU growth (Aug 2023 to Aug 2025) | +40% | Sensor Tower |
| Sleeper user count | 4M+ | Sleeper |
| Dream11 user count | ~220M | Dream11 |
Source: Sensor Tower, Sleeper, Dream11 corporate disclosures
League Format Statistics
- FSGA data shows next-generation fantasy players are highly engaged with season-long league formats, with 64% paying entry fees and 66% updating lineups daily.
- 64% of next-generation players pay league entry fees, indicating that paid season-long leagues remain the spending core for active fantasy participants.
- ESPN Fantasy holds 48% of fantasy football MAU.
- Sleeper holds 33% of fantasy football MAU and grew 39% YoY.
- Yahoo Fantasy holds 18% of fantasy football MAU, third in the category behind ESPN and Sleeper.
| Format | Typical League Size | Dominant Platform |
| Season-long redraft | 10-12 teams | ESPN, Sleeper, Yahoo |
| Daily fantasy | Open contests | DraftKings, FanDuel |
| Pick’em / props | Per-pick entries | PrizePicks, Underdog |
Source: ESPN, Sensor Tower platform analysis
Gen Z digital habits also shape fantasy participation; our social media screen time statistics page covers the broader engagement context.
Regulatory Picture: India, California, New York
- India: Parliament passed an online gaming bill in August 2025, outlawing all real-money online games, prompting Dream11 to pause paid contests on 21 August 2025.
- The Indian bill’s paid-contest impact removed a revenue base accounting for over 90% of Dream11’s income.
- California: PrizePicks shut down its house-banked pick’em contests and switched to a peer-to-peer product branded Arena.
- California: Underdog Sports made its California fantasy offerings peer-to-peer only, retaining its Champions pick’em variant.
- New York: The state banned DFS pick ’em-style contests in Fall 2023, affecting Underdog and PrizePicks operations in the state.
| Jurisdiction | Action | Year |
| India | Paid real-money games banned (Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill) | 2025 |
| California | Pick’em moved to peer-to-peer formats | 2025 |
| New York | DFS pick’em prohibition | 2023 |
Source: Dream11 corporate disclosures, California Attorney General opinion, New York Gaming Commission
The regulatory pattern is consistent across jurisdictions: states and national governments are drawing lines between skill-based season-long fantasy and house-banked prop products that resemble sports betting. Operators that offered both formats are pivoting to peer-to-peer mechanics or exiting markets entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Approximately 57 million people across the U.S. and Canada played fantasy sports in the past 12 months, with 53 million in the U.S. and 4.2 million in Canada, per the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association’s 2025 research conducted with Angus Reid Group. Combined fantasy and sports-betting participation reached 84 million North American adults.
ESPN Fantasy commands 48% of fantasy football monthly active users, followed by Sleeper at 33% and Yahoo Fantasy at 18%, per Sensor Tower’s August 2025 measurement. ESPN’s lead reflects its long-standing season-long league infrastructure and broadcast integration, while Sleeper has displaced share through social features and rapid year-over-year growth.
On 21 August 2025, Dream11 paused all paid contests after India’s Parliament passed an online gaming bill outlawing real-money online games. The paid-contest pause removed over 90% of Dream11’s revenue stream. The platform’s approximately 220 million Indian users retained access to free-to-play formats only.
Next-generation fantasy players spend a median of $100 annually on league entry fees, with 64% paying entry fees and 66% updating lineups daily, per FSGA research. Roughly 60% of players also pay for live sports packages or premium content, averaging $119 per year for fantasy participants.
Roughly 80% of all fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada are men, per YouGov data referenced in current FSGA reports. The gender skew is even more pronounced in fantasy NFL, where 87% of players are male. Closing this gap remains the most cited diversification target across major operators.
DraftKings reported Q4 2024 revenue of $1,393 million, up 13% from $1,231 million in Q4 2023, with 4.8 million average monthly unique payers in the quarter, per the company’s 8-K filing. DraftKings raised its 2025 revenue guidance midpoint to $6.45 billion alongside the results.
Conclusion
Fantasy sports remain a 57-million-person activity across the U.S. and Canada, with the broader fantasy-and-betting category at 84 million participants, per FSGA 2025 data. The headline scale is steady, but the engagement layer underneath has shifted in two ways during this year. Pick’em apps and social-first platforms are absorbing growth that legacy DFS books once captured by default; PrizePicks at 82% YoY MAU growth and Sleeper at 39% sit far above DraftKings’ 5% and FanDuel’s 3% on the same Sensor Tower scoreboard. Meanwhile, India’s August 2025 paid-contest ban removed Dream11’s roughly 220 million paying users from the global fantasy economy in a single legislative stroke, leaving the world map of paying fantasy users meaningfully smaller than the user-count totals from late 2024 implied.
The audience for this data is broad: operators planning the next product roadmap, advertisers calibrating spend, regulators drafting new rules, and players sizing up which platforms still serve their format. Expect the demographic gap to remain the single biggest growth target as the industry enters its next cycle.
