Fantasy sports began in 1980 when a group of friends in New York formed a fantasy baseball league where members drafted real MLB players to compete statistically. A book published in 1984 helped popularize the concept. With the rise of the internet in the 2000s, collecting player stats and news became easier, fueling fantasy sports into a $4 billion industry. Modern fantasy sports offer various league types and platforms for online drafting and real-time scoring that keep players constantly engaged with updates on injuries and player performances. While research was once intensive, fantasy sports are now accessible for casual and avid sports fans alike.