The Impact of Fantasy Cricket Motivational Factors on Participants’ Media and Gambling Consumption Behaviour: Fantasy Team Attachment as a Mediator

Abstract

There is a growing discussion in the current literature about fantasy sport users’ attachment to their favourite real-world sport team and self-created fantasy team. The involvement of player-specific fantasy sport enhances fantasy sport users’ knowledge and skills of the competitive sport, eventually altering their traditional sports fandom. This study measures the impact of fantasy cricket motivational factors (FCMFs) on fantasy sport users vis-à-vis fantasy team attachment, sense of competition, and their consumption behaviour on media and gambling. The study found a direct positive impact of FCMFs on fantasy users’ team attachment and sense of competition – and, furthermore, on their media and gambling consumption behaviour. The FCMFs indirectly impact fantasy users’ sense of competition using fantasy team attachment as a mediator. The study provides practical implications for fantasy sport providers to design their future policies in the context of Indian fantasy cricket users.