Fantasy sports leagues are some of the most popular ways for hardcore sports fans to engage with their favorite leagues and teams. The idea has been around since the 1960s when hobbyist baseball fans first started recording copious amounts of stats. It evolved in the 1980s as casual leagues took off across the US and Canada.
Since then, there have been quite a few developments in the world of fantasy sports. By far one of the most impactful was the introduction of daily fantasy sports or DFS back in the early 2000s. In fact, the most recognizable daily fantasy sports brand active today, FanDuel, got its start during this time.
FanDuel’s goal was simple: to shorten the duration of the fantasy league contest in order to make each game more exciting. Not only would this allow sports fans to engage in more contests, but it would also allow them to see how their predictions and lineups panned out without waiting months. Less waiting time and more action, in other words.
Soon, these contests became the subject of betting. Now that sports betting is legal in most US states, DFS fans can wager on contests. This has helped spur even more interest in these shortened fantasy leagues.
But now that DFS brands have been around for over a decade, there’s been a lot of interest surrounding them. Have they finished evolving? Or is there more in the works from these new types of bets? Let’s dive in and explore the future of DFS.
Just like any topic related to sports betting, it takes skill and passion to succeed as a DFS grinder. It’s impossible to accurately predict the outcome of a game… but the most informed bettors and analysts tend to do better. In other words, there’s quite a bit of skill and dedication involved.
In the future, DFS could see official leagues and even televised competitions on par with the World Series of Poker. Just like DFS, not everyone knows the rules of poker or the ins and outs of strategy—which would make watching a broadcast on these types of contests naturally riveting. Commentators could help break down the complexities of building a lineup, along with how live outcomes in games might affect DFS competitors.
FanDuel and similar DFS brands are always looking for ways to enhance their contests. DFS in its most simple forms is still highly engaging—but what will contests in the future look like? Along with more contests for beginners, like double-ups and tournaments, there’s a growing push toward bundled contests.
Another trend in DFS is parlays. Brands are now testing the waters to see how contests could be bundled together to extend the fun and maximize prizes. There’s also interest in bundling player props into certain contests. This has been around for a while, but could evolve into new types of contests that are unique to each DFS brand.
Yet another shift that DFS fans could see would be contests geared more toward female fans—which leads us to our next point (below).
One of the most crucial ways that DFS will evolve over the next decade is by expanding into new sports markets. Overwhelmingly, DFS has been popular in the US—this is both thanks to the ubiquitous nature of fantasy leagues and the rise of US brands like FanDuel.
Along with incorporating more contests geared toward women, it’s possible DFS brands will also include popular women’s leagues, like the WNBA. (In fact, FanDuel already offers fantasy sports on the women’s NBA.) Beyond the scope of women’s leagues, non-North American leagues are next up for DFS groups.
For example, the Premier League is a fairly new addition to DFS sites. Though providers are taking care to break down how the sport works for first-time soccer bettors, there’s already quite a bit of traction. College football and basketball are next up, along with global leagues and series like F1 Racing and Rugby Union.
