PlayUp Launches Draftstars India in Continued Global Expansion
The Australian company has launched the latest platform its online gaming ecosystem.
SYDNEY, November 27, 2018 – Draftstars, one of Australia’s most recognised fantasy sports platforms, has been launched in one of the fastest growing fantasy sports markets in the world. Draftstars India drew 2300 registrations in its first week of operation, with tens of thousands of Rupees being paid out in its initial few days.
It marks the first time the pay-to-play fantasy sports platform has expanded outside of Australia. Draftstars Australia made headlines last month after paying out the biggest fantasy sports prize pool in Australian history following the AFL Grand Final, with over $112,000 in winnings awarded to hundreds of competitors, including $10,000 to winner JRod78.
PlayUp Ltd, the parent company to Draftstars, has long held a strong Indian audience, where it was the 4th ranked sport-related website in October 2018. India is renowned for its enthusiastic sporting population, something that has reflected the rapid growth of fantasy sports in the country.
A recent report commissioned by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) demonstrated the exploding popularity of skill-based betting in the country. India currently has more than 20 million fantasy sports users, a number expected to grow to 100 million users by 2020. The report also showed that a staggering 89 percent of users play fantasy sports at least once a month.
The bursting popularity of fantasy sports has given rise to an increase in sporting leagues in the country. In the last five years eight new sporting leagues have been launched, including the Indian Super League (ISL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Premier Badminton League (PBL), Hockey India League (HIL) and International Tennis Premier League (ITPL).
“The Indian market is the fastest-growing fantasy sports market in the world,” said Draftstars India Operations Administrator, Venkatesh Iyengar.
“Given PlayUp’s strong reputation and brand in the country it was a natural decision to introduce another of our most popular pay-to-play fantasy sport platforms, Draftstars.”
Draftstars India currently has international and domestic cricket challenges, as well as football (soccer). Plans are in place to introduce Kabaddi and Basketball by years end.
About PlayUp
PlayUp is a next generation entertainment and technology group that enriches the lives of its clients by providing an entertaining, rewarding, and responsible online betting service. At its core, PlayUp develops innovative betting technologies in-house to power its brands and deliver world-class user experiences. Its energies are focused on fulfilling the needs of dedicated and passionate users who seek a deeper connection to the games they play.
PlayUp’s mission is to unify online betting into one platform inclusive of Sports Betting, Fixed-Odds Racing (Horses and Greyhounds), iGaming, Esports and Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) where it now hosts Australia’s largest and indeed some of the world’s biggest prize pools in competitive peer-to-peer online betting.
The company holds online betting licenses in multiple jurisdictions and currently operates in Australia, New Zealand, India and several regulated USA states.