One year ago, 23% of Americans aged 13 and up said they’d be playing some kind of fantasy football in the 2021 NFL season – whether that was a season-long league, a daily game, or both.
A year later, the same CivicScience survey finds that 18% of Americans say they’ll play fantasy football in the 2022 season. The decline seems to be coming mainly from the daily fantasy realm. The percentage of respondents who said they’ll only play in a season-long league has remained fairly steady, while the daily fantasy category has dipped.
It’s possible that the drop in interest for daily fantasy games ties into the category’s overlap with online sports betting – a sector that has been experiencing some growing pains of its own. After all, online sports betting has only been legal for a few years in most states. Is the initial allure of online betting wearing off for Americans, or will wagering pick back up again once the NFL season gets underway in earnest?
Among adults (21+) who are using sportsbook apps to bet online, DraftKings remains the app of choice, now attracting one-third of online bettors. One interesting development is FanDuel’s recent stagnation in users. Could we see DraftKings pull away from the competition for good?
But how do DraftKings fans differ from FanDuel or BetMGM users? Well, perhaps surprisingly, BetMGM’s users are the youngest of the top three apps. Meanwhile, FanDuel has the highest proportion of women.
While online sports betting and daily fantasy football are certainly here to stay in the long run, the most recent usage numbers are a good reminder that these apps won’t have continuous, uninterrupted growth – even with the arrival of the new NFL season on the horizon.
