In today’s time, the tournaments of any sports be it Cricket, Football, Tennis, etc. and fantasy sports apps go hand-in-hand because of the immense participation they fuel. If a sports tournament increases user engagement, fantasy sports apps act as a channel through which users can also participate. IPL is one of the most popular cricket tournaments across the globe and a huge percentage of cricket lovers engage in this tournament through a sports fantasy app.
As per the Credable report, the total user base for the fantasy gaming market reached 61 million in 2023, with an impressive 35% composed of new entrants to fantasy gaming. Today, there are more than 130 million active users and a market value of Rs. 34,000 crore in the sports fantasy industry, thanks to the right user engagement strategies. That’s where gamification comes in.
Gamification of sports fantasy apps can increase users’ engagement in the fantasy sports gaming experience. It will help them feel more connected and motivated to participate through the right incentives and strategies. Gamification in the form of social leaderboards and performance comparisons in a fantasy sports app improves user engagement by sparking a friendly rivalry, boosting motivation, increasing app usage, and creating a community.
In this article, we will go through various aspects of implementing gamification in the sports fantasy app.
What is Gamification in fantasy sports apps?
Gamification in fantasy sports apps refers to the usage of game mechanics in a non-game activity with the aim of making a game more engaging. The popular game mechanics are leaderboards, rankings, points, levels, achievement badges, virtual currency, and others.
Gamification has found its maximum potential and usage in the fantasy sports industry. Today, it has become a highly important marketing strategy that has transformed the traditional way of fans interacting with their selected teams.
How does Gamification increase user engagement?
Implementing Gamification while fantasy sports app development helps sports fans to achieve their basic desires of achievement, competition, and social interaction. The implementation of gamification in sports fantasy apps will help you motivate the users to engage more deeply in the app. Here are the major ways by which gamification increases user engagement in sports fantasy apps:
1. Increase Motivation Among Users:
When users get points, badges, or increases in levels, they get a sense of achievement and progression. Thus, they are always motivated to continue using the app and strive for higher ranks & rewards.
2. High Level of Enjoyment:
With gamification, there is some level of thrill, fun, and excitement in the sports fantasy app. When the activities gets convert into games, users tends to spend more time on the app and enjoy a lot.
3. Social Competition:
This is a prominent factor of gamification. The leaderboards and challenges encourage healthy competition among users. Through leaderboards, the users can check their performance in comparison to their friends & family. Thus, it creates a social aspect that fosters engagement and keep users hooked.
4. Goal-Oriented Experience:
The users get clear goals and objectives to achieve through gamification in sports fantasy apps. It provides a sense of direction and purpose. Thus, the sports fantasy app experience becomes more satisfying.
Benefits of Gamification in Fantasy Sports Apps:
There are numerous benefits of gamification in sports fantasy apps. Here are the major ones:
1. Adds Entertainment in the Sports Fantasy App:
Although sports is itself a source of entertainment and fun, gamification allow players to further engage with the game. It adds an extra layer of entertainment and competition. The users can compete with each other and win exciting prizes or real money.
2. Track the progress:
Gamification give opportunity to the players to track their progress against other over multiple tournaments. This increases the user engagement and make the sport even more exciting.
3. Encourages Teamwork and Collaboration:
Gamification also motivates gamers to work together and collaborate. This team-based approach makes it easier for participants to work together towards a shared goal: winning the game.
4. Access to Special Tools & Strategies:
The teams also get access to specialized tools and strategies for making better strategic decisions and improve the overall performance. Thus, it promotes healthy competiton between players.
5. Exciting Rewards:
When the players create teams that win the leagues or tournament, they win rewards in the forms of point earned or real money. In most sports fantasy apps, the players can withdraw the money directly into their bank account. This keep the gamers motivated to keep competing at higher levels while having fun along the way.
Key Elements of Gamification for Fantasy Sports Apps:
After knowing the benefits, let’s explore the key elements of gamification in fantasy sports apps that your fantasy sports app development company need to take care:
1. Leaderboards:
Through leaderboards, the users can see their performance and ranking in comparison to others based on their fantasy sports’ team performance. There are real-time updates in the ranking, so users keep updated of how they are performing. Leaderboards keep the users motivated to improve their performance and beat others.
2. Challenges and Goals:
Users are presented with specific challenges and goals that they have to achieve. These challenges push the users and stay engaged with the game. When the users know that their efforts are helping in meeting the challenges, they are more likely to stay on the app.
3. Badges and Achievements:
On earning pre-defined points or money, users will unlock digital badges or achievements for reaching milestones or mastering specific skills. They can display these badges on their profiles which give a sense of achievement.
4. Interactive Quizzes or Trivia:
Many sports fans also like to test and showcase their knowledge of their favourite games. With interactive quizzes and trivia, they can earn points or rewards for correct answers.
5. Real-time challenges or competitions:
Users can also invite their friends and family or other app users to real-time challenges or competitions.
The Role of Mobile-First Gamification in Fantasy Sports Apps:
Smartphones and mobile-based apps play a crucial role in the seamless gamification of fantasy sports apps. Let’s understand how:
1. User Captivating Interface and Design:
The mobile interfaces are equipped with gestures like taps, swipes, and pinches. These elements eliminate any sort of friction and provide maximum engagement to users. A mobile app also has clear visual cues like progress bars, badges, and other visual indicators which improves the overall experience. Furthermore, sound effects & animations can create a sense of satisfaction and motivate users.
2. Helps in Deliver Personalized and Customized Experience:
You can implement various analytical capabilities in the mobile apps through which you can adjust the difficulty of tasks based on users’ skill levels and progress. They will feel challenged but not overwhelmed. Also, mobile devices facilitate social interaction thorugh leaderboards, challenges, and sharing achievements.
3. Seamless Integration:
Mobile devices give opportunities to integrate new features and challenges gradually. It helps in maintaining user interest and prevent overloading of information. Furthermore, you can add game elements naturally into the core functionality of the app.
4. Mobile Specific Benefits:
Mobile devices have built-in GPS, thus you can share location-based challenges with the users. Plus, mobile notifications and push alerts can drive urgency and encourage timely participation in time-limited challenges.
We can design mobile interfaces and touchpoints for engaging and rewarding gamified experiences that keep users coming back.
Conclusion:
In this article, we have understood various aspects of Gamification in the Sports fantasy apps. For a sports fan, gamification gives unlimited opportunities of engagement and satisfaction. Dedicated developers and programmers at Arka Software, develop highly functioning and user-friendly sports fantasy mobile apps with next-level gamification features. Let us know your requirements.
