Fantasy Sports vs iGaming: Complete Marketing Guide
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Originally published 1 July 2024. Updated on 29 July 2026.
Fantasy Sports and iGaming are two verticals that offer exciting opportunities, but they’re not the same.
Knowing the difference can be your ticket to setting up campaigns in a way to engage the very right audience.
Fantasy Sports is all about strategy and skill, where users create virtual teams based on real players. iGaming, on the other hand, is built around the outcome of an event, where luck plays a much bigger role.
Each has its unique audience and marketing approach. Let’s explore how you can tap into these markets and make the most of them.
iGaming vs Fantasy Sports – Overview
Fantasy sports involve creating virtual teams using real-life athletes, with participants competing based on player statistics. Success is driven by knowledge and strategy. In contrast, iGaming involves predicting outcomes of events, such as sports games and other events.
- Skill vs. Luck
Fantasy sports heavily depend on skill, research, and strategic decisions. While luck influences individual matchups, long-term success is primarily skill-based. iGaming is more luck-driven, though sports-related formats still reward some analysis. - Financial engagement
Fantasy sports participants pay entry fees to join leagues, with limited financial risk focused on competition and enjoyment. iGaming involves direct wagering before or within the event. - Demographics
- Both activities draw a similar core audience – predominantly male, sports-literate and concentrated in prime working age — but the split is not identical. In a January 2025 survey of 2,052 US adults by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association and the Angus Reid Group, 74% of fantasy sports players were men, against 61% of sports wagering participants. Fantasy players were also slightly younger on average: 42.4 years versus 45.0. The same survey put past-12-month participation at 18% of US adults for fantasy sports and 22% for sports. Two caveats. These figures cover the US only, and the iGaming side describes sports rather than online real-money gaming, where the gender split differs by market. Check the demographics of the GEO you actually plan to target instead of applying US averages globally.
Regulation: the difference that decides where you can advertise
The most consequential difference between the two verticals is not the audience — it is the legal treatment. In several markets, most visibly the United States, fantasy sports has historically been regulated as a skill-based contest and is available in states where other iGaming formats are restricted. That changes which GEOs you can target, what your creatives may claim, and which app stores will accept your placement.
Two practical consequences:
- First, never assume a GEO that works for one vertical is open to the other — check state-country-level or country-level rules for the specific offer.
- Second, requirements change: verify the current position with your advertiser and your traffic source before each launch rather than relying on a guide, including this one. Nothing here is legal advice.
How to run iGaming and Fantasy Sports campaigns
Understanding the differences between Fantasy Sports and iGaming is just the first step. It’s important to use the right advertising methods suited to the audience’s unique behaviors and preferences for effective marketing.
Effective marketing formats for iGaming
Popunder ads are highly effective for iGaming due to their broad reach and user retargeting capabilities. This format allows advertisers to capture user attention without being intrusive, ensuring a wide reach over a long-term campaign.
The goal is to attract users back to an iGaming site or app over time, making Popunder ads an ideal choice for sustained engagement.
Effective Marketing Formats for Fantasy Sports
Push notifications are recommended for Fantasy Sports because they deliver high engagement and prompt immediate conversions.
This format is particularly effective as it targets users already interested in fantasy sports and prompts them to take quick action.
Popunder ads can also be effective when sourced from highly converting traffic types such as social traffic or direct click traffic. Paid Social traffic, offered by PropellerAds, boasts high conversion rates, making it a valuable asset for Fantasy Sports marketing.
Case study: how one partner scaled a fantasy sports app campaign around the NFL season
The campaign below ran during the NFL season and is included as a worked example of format and timing choices, not as a current benchmark – traffic costs and competition have changed since. One of our partners promoted several fantasy sports app offers to iOS users in US states where those apps operate, using Popunder ads on CPM and SmartCPM bidding with retargeting, and a prelander pointing to the App Store.
According to PropellerAds statistics, over the season the campaign reached more than 2,000,000 relevant users on the largest app offer, built a reusable retargeting audience, and — on some offers — sustained daily revenue in the region of $7,000. Volumes peaked around the Super Bowl, exceeding 1.2 million impressions on the busiest days (see table).
| Date | Impressions |
2023-02-17 | 87,819 |
2023-02-16 | 232,203 |
2023-02-15 | 24,340 |
2023-02-14 | 13,978 |
2023-02-13 | 13,543 |
2023-02-12 | 1,244,433 |
2023-02-11 | 1,216,631 |
2023-02-10 | 926,650 |
2023-02-09 | 668,855 |
2023-02-08 | 31,242 |
2023-02-07 | 66,488 |
2023-02-06 | 122,048 |
season, with a setup tuned over time. They are shared to show what the format and
timing can do – not as typical results, an average, or a projection of your earnings.
Impression volumes reflect PropellerAds network data for the dates shown.
Differences in target audiences for iGaming and Fantasy Sports
The target audiences for iGaming and Fantasy Sports share some similarities but also have distinct differences.
Fantasy Sports
Fantasy Sports participants are typically sports enthusiasts who enjoy the strategic aspect of managing virtual teams. They are often highly knowledgeable about sports and seek a competitive, skill-based activity.
iGaming
On the other hand, iGaming attracts a broader audience interested in a variety of traditional online sports activities. This audience enjoys the thrill of wagering and the potential for rewards, even if it involves a higher element of luck.
Marketing strategies tailored to each audience
Fantasy Sports
For Fantasy Sports, the marketing strategy should focus on emphasizing the skill and strategy involved. Highlighting the competitive aspect and providing tips on player performance and team management can attract more dedicated sports fans. Using push notifications to keep users engaged and informed about upcoming matches or player stats can also be very effective.
iGaming
For iGaming, the strategy should highlight the excitement and potential financial rewards. Popunder ads can be used to reach a broad audience and bring them back to the platform for more gaming opportunities. Emphasizing responsible gaming and offering tools to manage spending can also help in retaining users and building trust.
Expert opinion on iGaming and Fantasy Sports marketing strategies
So, what do the experts have to say about these marketing strategies? Maria Kotova, Head of Advertisers Growth at PropellerAds, offers valuable insights into the differences in marketing approaches between traditional iGaming and Fantasy Sports. According to Maria:
“There is a difference between traditional iGaming and Fantasy Sports when it comes to marketing campaigns.
iGaming focuses on wide reach and user retargeting to bring users back to an iGaming website or app over time. In other words, it’s all about maintaining broad reach over the long term, with Popunder ads being a top format for iGaming.
Fantasy Sports, on the other hand, targets a narrower audience and typically requires immediate conversions, often within the same browser session, because there’s a smaller chance that users will return.
This is why Push notifications are ideal for Fantasy Sports, as they are designed to engage users with high-level interaction. However, Popunder ads can also be effective here, especially when sourced from highly converting traffic such as Social traffic or Direct click.”
Her insights highlight the importance of choosing the right ad format and targeting strategy based on the audience’s needs and behaviors. For iGaming, the focus should be on broad reach and long-term engagement, while Fantasy Sports requires immediate and highly engaging interactions.
Social traffic for iGaming and Fantasy Sports Marketing
In addition to traditional marketing formats, there’s an exciting new option from PropellerAds that can significantly boost your campaign’s success: Social Traffic.
Social traffic refers to users who are engaged through social media platforms. This type of traffic is highly targeted because it reaches people based on their interests and activities on social networks.
By tapping into social traffic, you can access a group of users who are already primed for interaction and conversion.
Benefits for iGaming and Fantasy Sports
- Highly targeted audience
Social traffic allows you to reach users who are more likely to be interested in iGaming or Fantasy Sports based on their social media activity. This targeting can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.
- High engagement
Users coming from social platforms are often more engaged, making them more likely to respond to ads, participate in Fantasy Sports, or revisit iGaming sites.
- Real–time interaction
Social media allows for real-time interaction, providing immediate feedback and engagement opportunities, which are crucial for Fantasy Sports and require quick conversions.
- Cost–effective
Compared to other traffic sources, social traffic can be more cost-effective, providing a high return on investment through better-targeted ads and lower competition.
Social traffic, combined with formats like Push notifications and Popunder ads, can create a comprehensive marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of each traffic type. Whether you’re focusing on iGaming or Fantasy Sports, integrating social traffic can help you achieve better results and a higher engagement rate.
FAQ: Fantasy Sports vs iGaming
Q: What is the difference between fantasy sports and iGaming?
A: In fantasy sports, the user assembles a virtual team from real players and competes against other participants on those players’ real-world statistics over a round, a week, or a season — the outcome depends largely on their own research. In iGaming, the user predicts the outcome of an event, and that event settles the result, so luck weighs far more heavily. Fantasy sports is a contest between participants; iGaming is a prediction of a result.
Q: Do fantasy sports and iGaming attract the same audience?
A: The audiences overlap heavily — both skew male, sports-literate and in prime working age — but the motivation differs. Fantasy sports players are in it for the competition, the expertise and the standing over a season; iGaming users are after a fast result on a single event. The same person may do both and still respond to completely different messaging.
Q: Which ad formats work better for fantasy sports?
A: Push notifications, because fantasy sports depends on a quick reaction and the conversion usually has to happen in the same session. Popunder works as well when the traffic is already warm — social traffic and direct click convert best here. More on picking a format in our guide to iGaming ads.
Q: When is the best time to run fantasy sports campaigns?
A: Campaigns follow the sports calendar, not the marketing one. Demand peaks at the start of a season, when users draft their teams, and again around the marquee fixtures and the playoffs. Between seasons, volumes drop sharply, so plan budgets around the schedule of the league you are targeting.
Q: Why does targeting for fantasy sports differ from state to state in the US?
A: Because the rules are set state by state, and an app that operates in one state may not be available in the next. In practice that means targeting only the states where your specific offer is live, and confirming that list with the advertiser before launch rather than after. We are not in a position to give legal advice – check the current status with the operator or your own counsel.
Q: Can I use the same creatives for fantasy sports and iGaming?
A: No. Fantasy sports creatives sell strategy, sports knowledge and beating other players; iGaming creatives sell a fast result and a bonus. Reusing one set for the other pulls clicks with the wrong intent, and the loss shows up at regi,stration rather than in CTR.
Drive more conversions with Fantasy Sports and iGaming
We’ve covered the key differences between Fantasy Sports and iGaming and the best ways to market each. Use social traffic, popunder ads, and push notifications to reach your audience and drive conversions.
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