The Emotional Experiences of Fantasy Sports Participants

The growth of fantasy soccer has been rapid over the last decade. Yet, surprisingly, very little is understood about the emotional experiences associated with playing the game. The present study utilized the Multidimensional Emotion Questionnaire to measure the emotions of 1,932 fantasy soccer players categorized as having either low, low-to-moderate, moderate-to-high, or high engagement with the game. Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by Dunn's post-hoc tests found a very consistent pattern of emotional response characteristics (frequency, intensity, duration, and regulation) increasing in line with level of engagement (i.e., from fewest in low engagement players to most in high engagement players). Across the sample as a whole, paired-samples f-tests found positive emotions to be greater than negative emotions for frequency, intensity, and duration, but not regulation. These results can be used by stakeholders to optimize the playing experience and tailor the marketing of fantasy sports games.