Fantasy sports are now a $1.4 billion industry in the US

A generation ago, fantasy sports were a nerdy fringe hobby. Today, they're a $1.4 billion industry in the US.

That's according to a new (paywalled) report from the research company IBIS World. That $1.4 billion in revenue translates to $521.5 million in profit for a handful of companies, led by Yahoo (with 18 percent of the market), ESPN (12.9 percent), and CBS (7.3 percent).

Here's the split by sport:

(IBIS World)

Although most fantasy leagues are free to participate in, these companies make money off all the ads they serve on their sites and mobile apps. It might seem like a ton, but it makes sense, given how much time people spend on them — lots of fantasy football players repeatedly check their scores all day every Sunday, and players of other fantasy sports with daily games have to check their lineups every day during the season.

As a result of increasing numbers of these players, the industry has grown by about 11.9 percent annually for the past five years. But it's still relatively small, compared to many other leisure activities: for comparison, both the skiing and bowling industries take in about $3 billion annually in the US.

Further reading: Fantasy football: a beginner's guide

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via