Free-to-play (F2P) aggregation platform Inside The Pocket (ITP) has teamed up with digital cricket platform ESPNcricinfo for an exclusive free daily fantasy offering via its new WonderWins brand, primed to debut ahead of this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
The collaboration enables cricket fans to engage with fantasy gaming as well as accessing match coverage, news, information, and analysis, and being part of the large community of cricket fans in India and the subcontinent to engage this experience.
ESPNcricinfo is ESPN’s dedicated cricket site and app and the world’s largest source of cricketing information, match coverage, news and analysis. It is a go-to digital destination for international news, live scores, statistics and analysis for cricket fans worldwide and a pioneer in the digital sports media with a 29-year-old rich legacy.
By becoming the exclusive Daily Fantasy provider for ESPNcricinfo in India and the subcontinent, WonderWins can connect with over 85 million discerning cricket fans on the ESPNcricinfo platform and further drive conversations with over 15 million highly engaged fans across its social media channels.
Hussain Naqi, Founder of both WonderWins and Inside The Pocket, said: “We’re understandably delighted to have become ESPNcricinfo’s exclusive Daily Fantasy partner in India and subcontinent. It’s a genuine honor to have been chosen to roll out fantasy games for such a trusted and revered international partner, whose very name brings instant authenticity and credibility with the end user.
“ESPN have been a brilliant and agile collaborator, organically wrapping WonderWins around their fantasy programming – from new article links to bespoke video programming and other product levers as we look forward to the much-anticipated IPL 2022 season ahead. It’s an exciting time and I’m thrilled to be over in India myself to witness the roll-out first hand.
“Our underlying platform is uniquely well-positioned to leverage this opportunity because we can diversify content, leverage consumer data and partition it for partners as the market’s shifting sands coalesce. Our multiple data partnerships deliver us unique consumer insights that will allow us to hyper-segment our audience communication over time, including for other sporting events like the World Cup 2022 football.”
Ramesh Kumar, VP & Head of ESPN Digital Media India, stated: “This is an exciting announcement, as now with this collaboration with WonderWins, ESPNcricinfo fans in India and the subcontinent region will be able to play and enjoy free fantasy on our platform, building a deeper engagement on ESPNcricinfo not just with the game-play but also with the enormous content that we will power to help users play intelligently. The timing is perfect with the exciting new season coming up and we are delighted to offer our new age cricket fans the right mix of information and entertainment for them to follow their favourite sport and teams.
“Consequently, we are now able to wrap an array of complementary programming and editorial content in the fantasy space around WonderWins, significantly boosting fan engagement around the game, as the new IPL season comes into sharp focus.”