If you are a fan of sports like football, have you ever thought about creating your dream team, with the best players of today?

And on top of that, participate in competitions with other “technicians”, who could be your friends, colleagues or people from different parts of the world?

This is possible with Fantasy Games!

In Brazil, they became very popular with Cartola FC, but some sports betting houses now offer the possibility of making money with fantasy games.

If you don’t know much about Fantasy yet, but are interested in starting to play, follow the guide we’ve prepared.

What are fantasy games?

These are online games that simulate a sports championship.

The idea is for the player to assemble a fictional team , made up of athletes of their choice, so that they can compete in tournaments.

Now you may be wondering: how is the scoring scheme done and what is the calculation that results in the winning team?

These tournaments are simulations of championships that we already know, such as the European Champions League and the Brasileirão .

Tournaments have a pre-defined duration and offer prizes to players, which can be a position in the ranking of friends or real money!

Therefore, the idea is that you put together a strong team, which brings together the best players from different teams, thinking about issues such as:

• Goals scored, assists and saves (in football);
• Performance, qualifying or overtaking scores (in Formula 1);
• Points, rebounds, assists or steals (in basketball).

Participants compete against each other in leagues, which can be long or short term.

Where to play fantasy games?

Cartola FC was one of the first Fantasy Games to become popular in Brazil.

Initially, players competed against each other in a playful way, the prize was “winning first place” at the end of the tournament.

Now, with the popularity of this type of entertainment, large bookmakers have started to offer a type of Fantasy that offers cash prizes.

Generally, the entry value is very low, with good possibilities of winning.

Remembering that even if there is a chance of earning money from the game, the idea is that you use the platforms responsibly , only when you have money available and do not compromise your monthly budget.

Currently, Betano and Bet365 are the best bookmakers to play Fantasy Game.

1. Betano: Affordable Buy In and attractive prizes

Betano has Fantasy Games available for 11 sports.

Among them, we highlight Football, Basketball and Tennis, as well as eSports, such as CS:GO and LoL.

To find out about the open tournament options, simply click on the Fantasy button , located in the menu on the bookmaker’s home page.

The same account used for sports betting will be used for Fantasy Game. We browse through the available sports modalities and tournaments selected by the house.

The initial amounts to enter the tournaments are very low. In addition to the free tournaments , some start at just a few reais, something like R$0.50!

Now, we highlight some terms that you should know when putting together your team and having fun at Betano:

2. Bet365: a great variety of sports

Just like Betano, the sports betting house Bet365 , one of the largest in the world, has expanded its activities and now offers Fantasy options.

Although football is the sport that receives the largest number of tournaments, more than 10 sports are available, such as Formula 1, fighting and golf.

To access the page, look for Fantasy – Sports in the top left menu of the website.

When we tested the brand’s features, we found them to be very similar to Betano’s, equally easy to try out and with accessible inputs.

Bet365 offers prizes in both Reais and Euros. This will depend on the tournament you want to enter.

Please be aware of the following terms that may appear during your Bet365 Fantasy experience:

3. Cartola FC: Brazilian Championship fantasy game

Cartola FC, from Grupo Globo, is a Fantasy Game focused on the Brasileirão.

Participants can assemble and manage their own teams using players from the Brazilian Championship.

With a pre-established budget, you manage it and wait until the competitions take place.

4. Rei Do Pitaco: for football fans

Rei Do Pitaco is another website specialized in football fantasy games.

There are no major differences in the rules of the game: the objective is to guess the result of games and accumulate points according to the accuracy of the guesses.

Participants can choose between different competitions and matches, placing their bets before the start of each sporting event.

In addition, Rei do Pitaco also offers additional features, such as challenges between friends, global ranking and rewards for the best placed players.

It is also possible to make substitutions, transfers and define the team’s tactical formation.

You can compete in private leagues, with your friends, or just participate in the game’s overall ranking.

Main tournaments

We browsed the Betano and Bet365 websites to illustrate some of the main tournaments available.

Brazilian Championship

At the time we analyzed the Bet365 website, there were 28 Brasileirão tournament options open.

The entry fee started at R$0.50 and the biggest prize was R$8,000!

Betano also has a great selection of football tournaments, with minimum and maximum values ​​equal to those of Bet365. Below, we simulate a lineup for the match between Athletico-PR vs Corinthians.

PGA Tour

Only Bet365 offered open tournaments on the PGA Tour, in golf. You could choose between rounds of the Traveler Championship in several stages, such as Round 2, 3 and Final Round.

The buy-in is a little more expensive than the other sports, with the cheapest being R$11.50. The biggest prize was R$1,457.50.

UFC

At Bet365, we found the opportunity to play on the night of Emmet vs. Topuria, with a buy-in of at least R$1. The biggest prize was R$1,725.

Libertadores

Finally, we have another very famous competition in the world of football, the Copa Libertadores!

We found the championship in both bookmakers.

See a summary of the main tournaments, with their entry values ​​and respective winning potentials, at Betano:

Best Strategies for Playing Fantasy Games

A series of external factors must be taken into consideration, after all, we are talking about something dynamic and unpredictable: sports!

Fantasy Games are games of skill, which require the player to study.

In addition to following sports, other tips can help you go further and build teams with a good chance of success. We have listed the main ones below.

1. Know the players well

Put yourself in the shoes of a football, basketball or any other sport coach you like to follow.

To assemble the ideal team, which has a chance of reaching the top of the table, you need to know the players closely, their skills and performance history.

Also see how they are doing in the short term, that is, how they have performed in recent matches.

One way to improve this analysis is through statistics published by the bookmakers themselves or other specialized websites.

Google itself can help! When searching for Cristiano Ronaldo statistics , we found some interesting data about the athlete:

For more in-depth data on athletes, you can visit sites like Transfermarkt .

2. Keep a close eye on competitions and deadlines

Another tip that seems obvious, after all, those who play Fantasy are generally fans of the sport/competition in question.

Following the competition closely is essential to find potential athletes who had great potential in previous weeks, but have recently seen a drop in performance.

Also, keep an eye on the tournament schedule, as there is a deadline to make changes to the team.

It is important to plan properly to make replacements before the date and time stipulated by the websites.

3. Manage your available budget well

Many Fantasy options have a budget limit for building teams.

Distribute your budget strategically, seeking a balance between expensive players and more affordable players who can deliver good performance.

Additionally, if you are betting on long-term competitions, you can focus the first few rounds on accumulating points.

This way, you will have a good amount of money “in cash” to put together great teams when you already have a better understanding of the athletes’ performance.

4. Follow the trends, but develop your own critical sense

Observe the formation trends and strategies used by other participants.

This can be helpful in aligning your team with these trends, but also be open to unique and different strategies.

Monitor player performance and make changes to your team as needed.

Injuries, suspensions, tactical changes or poor form may require substitutions to maximize your points.

5. Explore potential score increases

Identify players who can earn extra points on specific criteria, such as assists, goals, saves, fastest laps, etc.

This way, you achieve a balance between players who have chances to score in multiple ways.

6. Read the terms and conditions carefully

Familiarize yourself with the specific rules of the fantasy game you are playing.

Understand how scoring works, transfer rules, budget limits and other particularities of the game.

In addition, read the terms and conditions of the bookmakers if you use any of these sites to play Fantasy.

What is the difference between fantasy games and sports betting?

In Fantasy Games , participants create and manage virtual teams made up of real players.

These are simulation games, based on the performance of athletes. This competition may or may not be worth money.

In sports betting , bettors make predictions on specific outcomes of sporting events.

In this way, they put money on the probabilities that they believe will come true.

This was a very simple explanation so that you understand that they are two completely different things, despite being common in the fan community — especially in recent years.

Are fantasy games legal?

In Brazil, the legal situation of Fantasy Games is not yet fully defined.

There is a bill (2.796/2021) currently being processed in the Senate to specifically regulate the electronic and fantasy gaming industries.

This is different legislation than what we have today for gambling and sports betting.

• Gambling: Current gambling legislation prohibits gambling in Brazil, but Brazilians can access websites hosted abroad.
• Sports betting : The activity has been legal since 2018. Now, we are close to regulating sports betting.

Speaking specifically of the fantasy games PL, slot machines and other games of chance are not mentioned, even if they are played online.

Opinion makers in the field and Fantasy Games operators argue that this activity qualifies as a game of skill.

In this sense, they would consider that it does not fall within the legal definition of gambling.

One example is Poker, which is often confused with gambling – due to the fact that many overseas tournaments take place in casinos. But it also falls into the category of games of skill!

The Aposta Legal Brasil team awaits developments on the topic to update this guide with possible new developments.

So far, you can play Fantasy without any problems.

Sites to play fantasy games

As you may have noticed throughout our guide, we still have a small number of bookmakers that also offer fantasy games.

But we are talking about very trustworthy names: Betano and Bet365!

So, rest assured, as both brands have a solid track record in the international market, comply with payments to the bettor and have Terms and Conditions that we consider fair.

Conclusion

Fantasy style games have a touch of dynamism and excitement.

You can put into practice all your interest in sports like football and basketball, as if you were leading the best teams in the world!

The coolest thing is that you can compete with other people, whether they are friends or players from different geographies.

Test your knowledge in the free versions and upgrade to the paid versions as you feel confident.

And remember that both playing fantasy games and placing sports bets must be done responsibly.

Use your money only if you have some left over for fun activities, without compromising the pre-established budget for other areas of your life.

Have fun, above all!