Cricket website ESPNcricinfo is linking up with white-label free-to-play sports games aggregator Inside The Pocket (ITP) to launch a new daily fantasy offering for India and the Indian subcontinent.
The free-to-play game will be launched via ITP’s WonderWins brand to coincide with the start of the 2022 Indian Premier League twenty20 cricket competition on 26 March.
WonderWins, which will also house match coverage, news, information and analysis, will be ESPNcricinfo’s exclusive daily fantasy provider in India.
ITP, which launched in November 2020, said that WonderWins would be able to connect with “over 85 million discerning cricket fans on the ESPNcricinfo platform and further drive conversations with over 15 million highly engaged fans across its social media channels”.
According to a study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with knowledge provider EY, the value of the Indian fantasy sports market is expected to reach $2.5bn (£1.9bn/€2.27bn) this year, and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 32% through to 2024.
“ESPN have been a brilliant and agile collaborator, organically wrapping WonderWins around their fantasy programming – from new article links to bespoke video programming and other product levers as we look forward to the much-anticipated IPL 2022 season ahead,” Hussain Naqi, the founder of WonderWins and ITP, said.
“Our underlying platform is uniquely well positioned to leverage this opportunity because we can diversify content, leverage consumer data and partition it for partners as the market’s shifting sands coalesce.
“Our multiple data partnerships deliver us unique consumer insights that will allow us to hyper-segment our audience communication over time, including for other sporting events like the 2022 Fifa World Cup.”
WonderWins’ daily fantasy offering and “hyper-casual” games will continue to evolve over the coming months and years, ITP added.
Ramesh Kumar, vice-president and head of ESPN Digital Media India, said: “The timing is perfect with the exciting new season coming up and we are delighted to offer our new-age cricket fans the right mix of information and entertainment for them to follow their favourite sport and teams.
“Consequently, we are now able to wrap an array of complementary programming and editorial content in the fantasy space around WonderWins, significantly boosting fan engagement around the game, as the new IPL season comes into sharp focus.”
