So What Is The Appeal Of Fantasy Sports, Anyway?

Well, if you are new to the world of fantasy sports, you might be asking this question! You’ll be hooked, once you get a chance to play “armchair quarterback” in a real fantasy game. Sounds, a bit ironic, when you look at it like that though, doesn’t it? Before too long…you may become the Fantasy Sports Legend and take home the trophies.

The real appeal of fantasy sports is that it allows the average person to act as the owner of their own sports team in many different types of sports, including baseball, football and even fishing tournaments have fantasy sports leagues. Basically, you build a fantasy team based on real participants and their statistics. You might be surprised at how quickly you become addicted to it!

Fantasy sports have become a hobby that many people love- in fact, there are more than 30 million people that are involved in the fantasy sports leagues in the US and Canada, according to recent estimates by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.  There are billions of dollars in economic impact that is estimated to be derived from fantasy sports.

If you are wondering how these games got started, it is possible you may have heard fantasy sports referred to as “rotisserie” leagues, which were a name that was given to the fantasy sports hobby by sports reporters. There was a New York City restaurant called the La Rotisserie Francaise, where the first fantasy baseball league was believed to originate in 1980.

Since that time, the fantasy sports hobby has grown, especially with the convenience of the websites that offer fantasy sports. They track real-time stats, standings in the rankings and contain message boards, along with all kinds of major sponsors that offer prizes and awards, making it big business. In fact, there are more websites that offer fantasy sports because it was one of the few things that were exempt under the Internet Gambling Act of 2006, as long as it followed specific guidelines for giving away prizes. Basically, the prizes and awards need to be established and known before the game and can’t be contingent on the number of players or the fees they pay.

You can find fantasy leagues in football, soccer, baseball, basketball, golf, cricket, hockey and even wrestling or auto racing might be included in fantasy sports leagues. If you are a sports enthusiast and you have always thought you could create a “dream team” in your favorite sport, the world of fantasy sports leagues is a place that offers plenty of opportunity for fun and possibly, prizes. If you have a favorite sport, chances are you can find a fantasy sports league to join. You’ll quickly discover why it is so appealing!