How to Develop Fantasy Sports Apps Like FanDuel? (2024)

Want to create a fantasy sports app like FanDuel? The popularity of fantasy sports apps like FanDuel continues to soar. With the market expected to reach nearly $49 billion by 2027, there's no denying the potential for innovative fantasy sports app development.

Online fantasy leagues and tournaments have already captured millions of user’s attention so the demand for these apps is rising exponentially, and still, the count is increasing.

Whether it’s basketball, cricket, golf, or hockey, these apps have covered vast scale virtual sports gaming industry.

So whether you're looking to create the next big rival to FanDuel or cater to a specific sport or niche audience, this guide holds all the information you need for developing a fantasy sports app.

What is a Fantasy Sports App?

Fantasy sports are prediction games that are played online through a mobile app. This app brings together players who are described as professional athletes in the real world whose performance on the field decides to win in fantasy gaming.

The player will gain more points if the real-world athlete’s performance is outstanding. While you’re in the fantasy game app, not only players are betting on real-world athletes, but they also compete against users on the app.

Today, fantasy sports apps have taken the world by storm, revolutionizing the way sports enthusiasts engage with their favorite games.

In India and across the globe, fantasy gaming applications have become a popular platform where users can assemble their dream teams, strategize, and compete with friends and fellow fans in virtual leagues.

The excitement of managing a team of real-life players and witnessing their performances in live matches has captured the hearts of millions, making fantasy apps a dominant force in the sports entertainment industry.

Market Overview of Fantasy Sports Apps

Let’s have a look at some of the fantasy sports application statistics to understand the potential of these apps:

• The global sports betting industry accounted for a market size of $231 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
  
• Within the online sports betting app market, there are over 25,000 active businesses with nearly 245,000 employees running the fantasy sports industry.
  
• Several countries are a part of the legal sports betting market, including the US in 2019. The sports betting revenue in the US is projected to grow to as much as $10 billion by the end of 2028.
  
• In March 2021, the total wager value reported reached $4.6 billion whereas the sports mobile app wager alone accounted for $3.1 billion demonstrating the online sports betting app market.
  
• Overall, the global fantasy sports market size is forecasted to grow up to $6.11 billion at a CAGR of about 6.51% during the period 2021 to 2026.

What is a FanDuel App?

Now that we have an understanding of what sports fantasy apps are, let’s take a closer look at what makes FanDuel app a popular option in the industry and how it works.

With official partnerships with the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, FanDuel is a popular online platform and mobile application that offers daily fantasy sports and sports betting.

The app allows users to participate in fantasy game contests and place bets on numerous sports events. FanDuel's app is especially known for its easy-to-use, sleek interface, but it has a lot more to offer than just its user-friendly app.

This platform covers major professional sports leagues such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), and more.

In the FanDuel app, users can make their teams by selecting real players from different groups and competing against other users based on the statistical performance of those players in real games.

The scoring and rules vary depending on the sport and contest type users playing.  The app further allows users to enter contests with different entry fees and prize pools, and the winners receive cash prizes based on their performance.

FanDuel fantasy sports app also comes with a sportsbook feature, which enables users to place bets on various sports events. Players can bet on outcomes such as the winner of a game, point spreads, over/under totals, player performances, and more.

The sportsbook feature also provides real-time odds and lets users bet their lives during matches.

How to Develop Fantasy Sports Apps Like FanDuel?

Let’s come to our main topic, which is how you can create a fantasy sports application like FanDuel.

Developing a daily fantasy sports application like FanDuel requires careful planning, a solid technical foundation, as well as attention to user experience.

Below we’ve outlined the critical steps in creating the best fantasy sports apps:

1. Define Your Concept and Target Audience

Before starting the app development process, clearly define the concept of your fantasy sports app.

Decide which sports you want to include, whether it's cricket, football, basketball, baseball, or others. Determine your target audiences, such as casual or dedicated fantasy sports enthusiasts.

2. Market Research

After you’ve outlined your concept, and the target audience, conduct in-depth research to understand your competition and find possibilities for difference.

Closely study existing fantasy sports apps such as FanDuel and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Create a distinct value proposition for your platform by identifying market gaps.

3. Build a Team

Now search and opt for skilled mobile application development services that can contribute to different aspects of app development.

For your project, the key roles may include project managers, designers, front-end and app development companies, database experts, and quality assurance testers.

4. Define App Features

Once you have the best app development services for fantasy sports apps, outline the core features that you desire in your application. These features may include:

• User registration and authentication
• User profile management
• Sports league creation
• Drafting teams and selecting players
• Leaderboards and rankings
• Real-time scoring updates
• Social sharing and communication
• Payment integration for entry fees and prizes

5. Design the User Interface

Creating intuitive and visually appealing interfaces for your app like FanDuel is vital. You should pay special attention to usability and make it easy for users to navigate through different app sections.

Professionals can consider using wireframes and prototypes to validate their design choices before moving to development.

6. Develop the Backend

Develop a fantasy gaming app with a robust backend infrastructure to handle your apps’ logic and data management like FanDuel.

The team can consider using Node.js, Python, or Ruby on Rails for server-side development. Implement a database solution, such as MySQL or MongoDB, to store user data, game-related information, and real-time scores.

7. Implement Real-time Scoring

This step includes integrating with third-party sports data providers to get real-time scores and player statistics. It’s important for updating scores and determining winners accurately.

APIs provided by fantasy sports leagues and data aggregators can be used to fetch live data.

8. Implement Drafting and Team Management

Build a system that allows users a draft their fantasy teams based on player statistics and availability.

Team Cab implements features like player search, team creation, lineup management, and substitutions. You can also consider incorporating player news and injury updates to help users make informed decisions.

9. Build Payment and Prize Systems

The next step involves integrating a secure payment gateway to facilitate entry fees and prize distribution.

You can consider implementing features like user wallet management, transaction history, and withdrawal options. Also, verify adherence to pertinent financial legislation and data security guidelines.

10. Test and Refine

After integrating payment gateway thoroughly test your apps for functionality, performance, and security.

Conduct usability testing with real users to collect feedback and identify areas for improvement. Continuously iterate on your fantasy sports app based on user feedback and market trends.

11. Launch and Market

Moving forward in the fantasy sports app development process, prepare a comprehensive marketing plan to promote your fantasy sports apps like FanDuel.

Leverage social media, influence partnerships, effective marketing trends, app store optimization, and paid advertisements to increase app visibility.

Engage with your target audience through targeted campaigns and build a strong user community to build a strong user base.

12. Monitor and Update

After your app is launched, closely monitor user engagement with performance and feedback. Set updates regularly to fix bugs, launch new features, and enhance user experience.

To remain competitive in the market, stay updated with the latest sports and fantasy industry trends.

Key Features of Fantasy Sports Apps like FanDuel

A fantasy sports app just like any other app is known by its features. Features are the key component that helps an app stand out from the competition.

For a successful fantasy gaming platform, you’ll need to invest in a high-quality backend and servers to ensure that your app can handle a large quantity of traffic.

Moreover, these platforms require a slick and attractive user experience that is exciting and easy to use.

Here is a list of the main features of the FanDuel app:

For Registered User

• Login/Signup
• View player stats
• Profile setting
• My Winnings/ My offers
• Create/join leagues and tournament
• Select tours (upcoming tournaments/leagues)
• Create a team page on the basis of skills/ positions/ formats/points

For Web admin

• Admin Login
• Manage results and points
• Notification and request management
• Payment/ Transaction Management
• Fantasy points Management
• Manage leagues, player and player assignment
• View and manage lists of users, payments, the transactions with a history

Add on features for registering user

• Live group chat
• Social media sharing
• Live commentary feed
• Photo gallery of live games
• Live video streaming of games
• Payment mode for subscription
• Other add-on features for Web admin
• Dashboard analytics

Other sports integration

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Algorithms
• News Feed for activities by active users
• ESPN API integration for player statistics
• Leaderboard (Player / Team /User based on income)
• Coupons, Offer management, manage static HTML Pages, and blogs.

Other Examples of Fantasy Sports Apps in the Market

Aside from FanDuel, a popular fantasy sports app in the United States that offers contests in various sports, including football, basketball, and hockey, there are many other famous apps in the fantasy sports industry including:

DraftKings: Another popular fantasy sports app, offering sports contests like football, basketball, and baseball. DraftKings offers daily fantasy contests and has a large user base.

Dream11: One of the most popular fantasy sports apps in India today, Dream11 covers cricket, football, basketball, and other sports. The platform has gained massive popularity and offers a wide range of contests and cash prizes.

How Much Does Developing a Fantasy Sports App like FanDuel Cost?

Every day, millions of users are utilizing popular fantasy sports sites and applications like FanDuel, which are constantly changing the sports industry.

The cost of developing a fantasy sports app like FanDuel can vary significantly depending on several factors such as app features, platform (iOS and Android), development team, and the technologies used for backend development and data management.

However, according to numerous sources, the costs of developing a sports betting app like FanDuel range from $20,000 – $80,000 based on all factors discussed above.

If you want to create a game app with simple features for a single platform, the projected cost to create a sports app like Fanduel can start from $10,000.

But, in case you want to make an app with extensive features for more than one platform, then the prices can go up to $50,000 or more.

The fantasy sports app trend is sweeping the globe, and now is the best time to get into the game by making your own Fantasy app.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Fantasy Sports App Development

How much it will cost to build a fantasy sports app can go high if it contains advanced features.

To determine the cost of the app, multiple factors can help you predict your mobile app development budget. Here are some of the main ones:

Step 1: Platform

When you’re thinking about making the best fantasy sports mobile app, one big decision is which platform to use: iOS or Android.

Popular betting apps like Fanduel, are available on both Android and iOS. They use Amazon Web Services to keep data secure and running smoothly.

Developing an app for iOS tends to be cheaper than for Android because iOS works on fewer devices.

But if you want to reach more users, it’s smart to make your app for both platforms. So, before you start working with an app developer or mobile app development agency, think about which platform will work best for your goals.

Step 2: Tech Requirement

After you’ve selected the platform for your fantasy gaming app, the next step is to select the right tech stack for your mobile app developers. This means deciding things such as:

• What programming language do you want to use in your app?
  
• Which database will store your app data?
  
• Whether you want to build your application specifically for one platform or use a framework that works across different platforms.

Answering these questions will help you better understand how much money you’ll need for development. You can also talk to your app developer first to make the best choice for your project.

Step 3: Fantasy Sports Mobile App Features

As mentioned earlier, the success of fantasy sports apps heavily depends on the features they offer. Keep in mind the more features you want, the more it might cost to develop.

Features like supporting multiple platforms, giving expert analysis, showing live matches, offering different ways to pay, and having leaderboards can make app development more expensive.

However, no matter what there are some key features your app needs to do well such as a dashboard, payment integration, join contests, notifications, statistics, gamification, and more.

Step 4: Hiring A Sports App Development Company

At last, the cost of fantasy game app development depends a lot on the company you hire or dedicated app developers.

It’s crucial to choose a development partner who knows what they’re doing, has the right tools, and is fair with their pricing.

The better the development process will be, the less money you might need to spend. A reputable app development company can help you avoid mistakes, give you good advice, and use top-notch resources to make your app great.

Also, where your developers are based can affect how much you’ll pay.

How Does a Fantasy Sports App Like FanDuel Make Money?

A fantasy sports app like FanDuel generally generates revenue through various channels and if you planning to develop a fantasy sports app, you must know the revenue model.

Here are some of the main ways in which the gambling Fanduel app makes money:

1. Entry Fees

Fantasy game apps such as FanDuel charges entry fees from users who participate in their fantasy sports contests.

Users must pay an entry fee if they want to join a game, which can vary based on the contest size, prize pool, and competition level.

2. Commission

FanDuel applies a commission, often known as a “rake,” to the entry fees. The rake is a small percentage typically around 10% deducted by the platform from the prize pool of each contest.

The remaining prize money is then distributed among the winners. The rake-assists generate revenue for the platform.

3. Advertising and Sponsorships

FanDuel also generates revenue through advertising and sponsorship deals from companies looking to reach the app’s user base. They may partner with teams, sports leagues, media outlets, and other relevant businesses to promote their products or services.

Advertising revenue is generated through various sources, such as banner ads, sponsored content, and branded promotions within the app.

4. Partnerships and Licensing

The platform may also enter into partnerships or licensing agreements with sports leagues, teams, or media outlets.

These partnerships with fantasy apps can involve official logos, player images, and other intellectual property, often at a cost. Moreover, FanDuel may offer co-branded contests or special promotions in collaboration with these partners.

5. Premium Services

There are some fantasy betting apps including FanDuel, that offer premium services or subscriptions that offer users additional enhanced features, insights, or exclusive content.

These premium offerings often come with a subscription fee, providing an additional revenue stream for the platform.

6. Data and Analytics

These apps also collect vast data from user interactions, including player performance, user preferences, and behavior patterns.

The platform then can leverage this data to generate insights and statistics that can be valuable to sports teams, media outlets, or other business ideas.

FanDuel app may also offer data analytics services or sell anonymized data to interested parties, creating an additional revenue source for them.

Regulations for Building Fantasy Sports Apps

When you are planning to build a fantasy sports app, it is crucial to adhere to certain regulations and guidelines to ensure compliance and legality within the Indian market.

The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) has issued a Charter for Fantasy Sports Platforms (FSP), which includes the minimum standards and expectations for Fantasy Sports Platform (FSP) operators.

Here are the key regulations you need to consider when building your fantasy app:

1. Legality

• Paid game contests must be skill-predominant, reflecting users' knowledge and skill.
  
• Game contests should be based on officially sanctioned real-world sports matches
  
• Fantasy teams must include players from at least two real-world teams.
  
• Manual changes to fantasy teams after the start of real-world matches are not allowed.
  
• The app operator is not allowed to participate against users.

2. Transparency and Disclosure

• Publish clear and accurate terms and conditions, contest mechanics, and rules on your fantasy app.
  
• Specify the points calculation mechanism and method of determining winners.
  
• Clearly define the prize distribution policies on the platform.
  
• Inform users of any changes to the policies in advance.

3. Integrity

• App personnel must not participate in paid contests on the app.
  
  
• Comply with the FIFS Responsible Gaming Policy and any updates to the policy.

4. Financial Integrity

• Keep separate accounts for operational expenses and prize pool funds.
  
• User funds should not be diverted for any purpose other than timely transfer to verified bank accounts.

By following these regulations, you can ensure fairness, transparency, and financial security for your users, increasing the chances of becoming a “FIFS Approved Operator” and operating your fantasy app legally within India.

Aside from this, don’t forget to stay updated with any amendments to the regulations as per the FIFS By-Laws.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, developing a fantasy sports app like FanDuel can offer a bigger opportunity for your business. By adding advanced features and the latest technologies, you can be sure to make more revenue.

You can create a platform where sports enthusiasts come together, compete in friendly matches, and enjoy a thrilling virtual sports experience.

Just make sure to follow the above-given rules carefully, keep users interested, and adjust to what your audience wants as things change.

If you feel like you are having a hard time planning then you can reach out to Arramton Infotech which is one of the leading mobile app development companies.

Our experts can help you to build the next top fantasy sports betting apps like FanDuel using cutting-edge technology and within your budget. Contact Us today to learn more about how we can help in your Fantasy Gaming App Development project!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much does it cost to develop a fantasy sports app?

Ans. The cost of a fantasy sports app depends on many factors such as the features, design, complexity, rates of the development team, and location of the team you’re hiring. However, developing an app like Dream11 typically costs Rs30,000, 000 to produce for each platform, especially on its architecture of it.

Q. What are the technologies required to develop a fantasy sports app?

Ans. Several technologies are required when building a fantasy sports app including:

• Front-End Development: Languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the user interface (UI) that players interact with. Frameworks like React Native or Flutter can be used for efficient cross-platform development.
  
• Back-End Development: To handle server-side logic and data management. Programming languages like Python, Java, or Ruby on Rails are popular choices.
  
• Database: Stores user information, team statistics, game data, and user accounts. Popular options include MySQL, MongoDB, or PostgreSQL.
  
• APIs (Application Programming Interfaces):  These allow your app to integrate with external data sources for real-time sports data, news, and player updates.
  
• Cloud Platforms: Cloud services like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Amazon Web Services (AWS) provide scalable infrastructure to handle user traffic and data storage.

Q. Is the fantasy sports app profitable?

Ans. Yes, a fantasy sports app is a highly profitable earning model that can allow your business to earn huge money by partnering with brands and enterprises to utilize your fantasy apps to run various types of advertisements like banners, static, videos, etc.

Q. How to create an app like Dream11?

Ans. To create a fantasy gaming app like Dream11 you can follow the below given steps:

• Define your target audience and niche. What sport(s) will your app focus on? Who are your ideal users?
  
• Plan your app's core features and functionalities. What makes your app unique compared to existing options?
  
• Choose a development team or platform. Consider your budget and technical expertise.
  
• Develop and test your MVP. Start with a basic version and gather user feedback before adding complexities.
  
• Market your app effectively. Reach out to your target audience and build a user base.

Q. What is the future of fantasy apps?

Ans. The future of fantasy apps looks bright and full of exciting possibilities. As reported, the global Fantasy Sports market size was valued at USD 22775.06 million in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.77% during the forecast period, reaching USD 46851.52 million by 2028.