Fantasy football startup LeagueSX raises angel funding

LeagueSX Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, which operates an eponymous fantasy football site, has raised an undisclosed amount from investors including LimeRoad co-founder Prashant Malik and Kraftly business chief Akshay Gulati, said a statement.  

Founded in 2015, the platform lets football fans create fantasy teams with real players and play virtual matches or game-weeks of their favourite competitions across Europe. In a different format called Reverse Fantasy, the teams have to score the least to win. The platform attracts fans across Asia, Africa and South America.

“Eighty five per cent of football fans support one of top 15 European football clubs. We focus on those 15 clubs and their fans. We cover all major competitions of Europe – Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Champion’s League and Europa League. Besides these, we also cover domestic cup competitions,” said Anshul Agarwal, chief executive of LeagueSX. 

According to UK-based market research firm Technavio, the fantasy football market is growing the fastest among all fantasy sports and is expected to reach $6 billion by 2020.

Close to 100 million Indians will play fantasy sport by 2019, according to a joint report by Indian Federation of Sports Gaming and market research firm AC Nielsen.

The fantasy sport segment has also attracted other investors.

Earlier this month, Tencent Holdings Ltd led a large investment round in Mumbai-based Dream11 Fantasy Pvt. Ltd, as China’s biggest gaming and social media company ramped up its India bets amid intensifying pressures at home.