Responsible Play — the IPL Super Contest guide.

What IPL Super Contest believes about fantasy sport

Fantasy cricket is entertainment with a small stake. The IPL Super Contest desk treats it the same way it treats a Saturday-night movie — money set aside for fun, never for income, never for recovery. The desk does not run fantasy as a livelihood and does not recommend that anyone else does.

Fantasy sport is a skill game, but skill alone does not produce consistent winnings. Variance dominates any single contest; variance averages out over hundreds of contests; the average player loses. Treat any claim of "guaranteed winnings" as a marketing claim, not a forecast.

The three rules the desk enforces on itself

• Deposit cap. Set a weekly deposit cap inside the app and never raise it. If you want to play more, raise the cap after one week, not within the week.
• Time cap. Set a daily time cap on the app and never exceed it. The app's timer is silent by design; the desk recommends 30 minutes per day during the IPL season.
• Loss cap. If you lose 30 percent of your weekly deposit cap in a single contest, stop playing for the week. The 30-percent rule is published by the desk and is independently audited.

What IPL Super Contest believes about fantasy sport

Fantasy cricket is entertainment with a small stake. The IPL Super Contest desk treats it the same way it treats a Saturday-night movie — money set aside for fun, never for income, never for recovery. The desk does not run fantasy as a livelihood and does not recommend that anyone else does.

Fantasy sport is a skill game, but skill alone does not produce consistent winnings. Variance dominates any single contest; variance averages out over hundreds of contests; the average player loses. Treat any claim of "guaranteed winnings" as a marketing claim, not a forecast.

The three rules the desk enforces on itself

• Deposit cap. Set a weekly deposit cap inside the app and never raise it. If you want to play more, raise the cap after one week, not within the week.
• Time cap. Set a daily time cap on the app and never exceed it. The app's timer is silent by design; the desk recommends 30 minutes per day during the IPL season.
• Loss cap. If you lose 30 percent of your weekly deposit cap in a single contest, stop playing for the week. The 30-percent rule is published by the desk and is independently audited.

Step 01

Responsible Play — the first thing to understand

Start with the rulebook, not the picks. The first thing every fantasy player should understand is the points system for the format they are about to play. A wicket in T20 is worth 25 base points plus an 8-point LBW/Bowled bonus — that single number changes how you value strike bowlers versus containment bowlers.

Step one is the deposit cap. The app's wallet section lets you set a weekly deposit cap that cannot be raised within the week. The cap is silent by design — the app does not nag you, does not remind you and does not push you to raise it. The cap is a tool for you, not a marketing surface.

A useful sizing rule: set your weekly cap at 1 percent of monthly disposable income. If you can afford ₹10,000 of disposable income per month, set the cap at ₹100 per week. The 1-percent rule is conservative but is the only rule that survives a losing streak.

Step one is the deposit cap. The app's wallet section lets you set a weekly deposit cap that cannot be raised within the week. The cap is silent by design — the app does not nag you, does not remind you and does not push you to raise it. The cap is a tool for you, not a marketing surface.

A useful sizing rule: set your weekly cap at 1 percent of monthly disposable income. If you can afford ₹10,000 of disposable income per month, set the cap at ₹100 per week. The 1-percent rule is conservative but is the only rule that survives a losing streak.

Step 02

Responsible Play — reading form the right way

Form is not the last match, it is the last 5 matches weighted by opposition quality. A fifty against a top-3 attack is worth more than a fifty against the league's weakest side. Our form index weights by opposition rank.

Step two is the self-exclusion tool. The app's responsible play section lets you self-exclude for 7 days, 30 days, 6 months or permanent. The exclusion is immediate and confidential — the app does not notify you, does not send reminders and does not push you to come back.

Self-exclusion is reversible only after the exclusion period expires. The 7-day exclusion is the right tool for a single bad week; the 30-day exclusion is the right tool for a longer break; the 6-month and permanent exclusions are for players who have decided the game is no longer for them.

Step two is the self-exclusion tool. The app's responsible play section lets you self-exclude for 7 days, 30 days, 6 months or permanent. The exclusion is immediate and confidential — the app does not notify you, does not send reminders and does not push you to come back.

Self-exclusion is reversible only after the exclusion period expires. The 7-day exclusion is the right tool for a single bad week; the 30-day exclusion is the right tool for a longer break; the 6-month and permanent exclusions are for players who have decided the game is no longer for them.

Step 03

Responsible Play — venue and pitch awareness

Wankhede, Eden Gardens and M. Chinnaswamy are different stadiums. The average T20 score at each is different, the boundary length is different and the spin-vs-pace ratio is different. Your team should reflect the venue, not ignore it.

Step three is the helpline. If you or someone you know shows signs of harm — chasing losses, hiding play from family, missing work or school — the national helpline is free and confidential. The IPL Super Contest desk lists the helpline number on the responsible play page and inside the app.

A useful tie-break: if you find yourself opening the app more than three times a day outside of a match window, the pattern is unhealthy. The app does not flag this; the desk flags it here. Take a break. The desk publishes a break guide on the fantasy guides vertical.

Step three is the helpline. If you or someone you know shows signs of harm — chasing losses, hiding play from family, missing work or school — the national helpline is free and confidential. The IPL Super Contest desk lists the helpline number on the responsible play page and inside the app.

A useful tie-break: if you find yourself opening the app more than three times a day outside of a match window, the pattern is unhealthy. The app does not flag this; the desk flags it here. Take a break. The desk publishes a break guide on the fantasy guides vertical.

Step 04

Responsible Play — captaincy as a multiplier

Captaincy is the single largest swing in your weekly score. A captain who scores 80 fantasy points with a 2× multiplier delivers 160 — the same player's un-captained score delivers 80. Visit the captain & vice-captain guide for the full framework.

Step four is the family conversation. If you play fantasy cricket regularly, talk to your family about the time and money you spend. The conversation is uncomfortable but it is the single best protection against harmful play. The desk recommends a quarterly check-in.

The family conversation also normalises the responsible play tools. When your family knows the deposit cap exists, they can help you stick to it. When your family knows the self-exclusion tool exists, they can encourage you to use it during a bad week.

Step four is the family conversation. If you play fantasy cricket regularly, talk to your family about the time and money you spend. The conversation is uncomfortable but it is the single best protection against harmful play. The desk recommends a quarterly check-in.

The family conversation also normalises the responsible play tools. When your family knows the deposit cap exists, they can help you stick to it. When your family knows the self-exclusion tool exists, they can encourage you to use it during a bad week.

Step 05

Responsible Play — what the model gets wrong

Every model gets something wrong. Ours under-weights the impact of a player returning from injury in their first two matches back, and over-weights the most-recent match. The methodology page lists every known bias.

Step five is the audit. The app's transaction history shows every deposit, every withdrawal and every contest entry. The desk recommends a weekly review of the history — set a recurring reminder on your phone, open the history and check the totals.

A useful tie-break: if your average weekly spend exceeds your weekly cap (which should be impossible but happens due to timing), the cap is set too low or the discipline is broken. Raise the cap only after a quiet month and never raise it within the week.

Step five is the audit. The app's transaction history shows every deposit, every withdrawal and every contest entry. The desk recommends a weekly review of the history — set a recurring reminder on your phone, open the history and check the totals.

A useful tie-break: if your average weekly spend exceeds your weekly cap (which should be impossible but happens due to timing), the cap is set too low or the discipline is broken. Raise the cap only after a quiet month and never raise it within the week.

Step 06

Responsible Play — putting it together

Apply the framework in this order: points system → form index → venue → captaincy → hedge. Skip any step and the model output degrades. The how to play page walks through the same checklist on a single match.

Putting the five steps together gives you a sustainable fantasy habit. The desk's own research — published in the bonus strategy post — shows that players who set a deposit cap and stick to it are 3x more likely to be playing fantasy cricket three years later than players who do not.

The 3x retention is not a marketing claim. It is a finding from the desk's own user data, audited by an independent reviewer. The data is published on the methodology page.

Putting the five steps together gives you a sustainable fantasy habit. The desk's own research — published in the bonus strategy post — shows that players who set a deposit cap and stick to it are 3x more likely to be playing fantasy cricket three years later than players who do not.

The 3x retention is not a marketing claim. It is a finding from the desk's own user data, audited by an independent reviewer. The data is published on the methodology page.