1. Online skill-based real-money gaming market in India is estimated to grow to become ~$3.8 Bn1 by 2024 speed of growing smartphone penetration, low cost of data and vast digital payment infrastructure allowing individuals access to instant real-time inter-bank transactions.
2. Introduced to Indian market in early 2010 and pioneered by Dream11, Fantasy sports contributed ~ 30% of the RMG market in 2019. Fantasy sports market has witnessed exponential growth in recent years fuelled by increasing user base, high engagement and increasing investor interest and is expected to grow by ~60% till 2024.
3. Casual online real-gaming market contributed ~70% of the total RMG market in 2019. However, it is expected to grow relatively slower at ~35% when compared to fantasy sports.
4. Driven by high growth opportunity in RMG market, horizontal players have started foraying in the segment. In 2019, Paytm entered the casual gaming space with Paytm First Games.
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Real Money Gaming: India’s New Playground
1. [Date]
Real Money Gaming: India’s
New Playground
RedSeer Perspective on the dynamics of Indian skill-
based Real Money Gaming. This report explores key
emerging themes in the market and identifies
opportunity and the way forward
2. 1 | P a g e
Contents
1. Executive Summary: ............................................................................................................ 2
2. India at the cusp of digital revolution ........................................................................... 3
3. Structure of Indian online skill-based Real Money Gaming (RMG) market .. 6
4. Skill-based real money gaming in India ....................................................................... 7
4.1 Fantasy Sports in India............................................................................................................ 8
4.2 Skill-based card-based gaming in India.............................................................................. 14
4.3 Emerging Horizontals in India’s Gaming Industry ........................................................... 16
5. Regulatory aspects of Online Real Money gaming ................................................. 17
5.1 Implication to Fantasy sports ............................................................................................... 17
5.2 Implication to Skill-based card-based gaming................................................................... 17
6. Way Forward ........................................................................................................................ 18
6.1 VC Investments in real money skill-based gaming ............................................................ 18
6.2 Expected consolidation in the space.................................................................................... 18
6.3 Regulatory Support ............................................................................................................... 18
6.4 Gaming Industry – The Covid Effect................................................................................... 18
7. Appendix................................................................................................................................. 19
7.1 Glossary ................................................................................................................................... 19
7.2 Customer Research................................................................................................................ 19
3. 2 | P a g e
1. Executive Summary:
• Online skill-based real-money gaming (RMG) market in India is estimated to grow to
become ~$3.8 Bn1 by 2024 on the back of growing digital infrastructure – breakneck
speed of growing smartphone penetration, low cost of data and vast digital payment
infrastructure allowing individuals access to instant real-time inter-bank transactions
• Introduced to Indian market in early 2010 and pioneered by Dream11, Fantasy sports
contributed ~ 30% of the RMG market in 2019. Fantasy sports market has witnessed
exponential growth in recent years fuelled by increasing user base, high engagement
and increasing investor interest and is expected to grow by ~60% till 2024
• Casual online real-gaming market contributed ~70% of the total RMG market in 2019.
However, it is expected to grow relatively slower at ~35% when compared to fantasy
sports.
• Driven by high growth opportunity in RMG market, horizontal players have started
foraying in the segment. In 2019, Paytm entered the casual gaming space with Paytm
First Games.
Online real-money gaming in India has invited attention from lawmakers and there exists legal
ambiguity around few games considered as “game of chance” and declaring them illegal.
However, recent Mumbai high court verdict on calling “fantasy sports” game of skills comes
as a relief to the fantasy sports platforms.
1
Includes fantasy sports and card-based games
4. 3 | P a g e
2. India at the cusp of digital revolution
India is expected to add another 200 Mn online gamers in the next five years. The strongest
proponent of this growth will be the next wave of digital revolution in the country driven by a
faster adoption of smartphones, availability of cheap data plans and digital adoption in the
Tier 2+ cities:
1. India has the fastest growing internet population and growing smartphone
penetration
Source: Redseer IP, Secondary Research
India’s digital growth story has evolved in three stages. From the pre 2000 dial up
internet era to the launch of broadband in 2000. Launch of broadband in India paved
the way for higher internet speeds for computer users. As a result, personal computers
became more prevalent in Indian households and workplaces.
2007 saw the launch of affordable smartphones bringing in several people online for
the first time. Smartphone penetration in India continues to grow at an exponential
pace. In 2019 there were 580 Mn smartphones in India, up from 478 Mn in 2018. The
fundamental driver of growth is availability of high performance and high specs
phones at cheaper prices.
Smartphones have been necessary in uplifting the small city and rural population of
India. They have given these users the opportunity to voice their opinions so they can
have a larger contribution to the economy
2. …and mobile data is getting cheaper
Since internet was introduced in India, the price of data has always been on the higher
side, leading to a high number of users using data only intermittently. However, the
cost of data in the last couple of years has fallen significantly, leading to an increase in
data consumption by the average Indian user.
5. 4 | P a g e
Source: Redseer IP
As a result, sectors like digital content, social media and online gaming have seen a high
growth spurt both in terms of users and engagement.
3. …leading to a rapidly growing top of the funnel for digital economy
Source: Redseer IP
By CY24, it is expected that ~70% of the Indian internet population (~940 Mn) will be
active internet users. The growth of top of the funnel will be substantial for all the
players in the digital economy, especially the gaming, which will be ~50% of India’s
internet population.
6. 5 | P a g e
This growth is attracting both home grown and overseas players to increase their
attention on the Indian population, forcing these players to tailor make more products
for the Indian market, leading to growth of the industry.
4. Further, digital India push has ushered in many digital payment platforms enabling
instant real-time interbank transaction
UPI payments saw an exponential rise in the past 2 years. While wallet payments
dominated the digital payments much of 2018, by the end of 2018 UPI payments took
over wallet payments. In 2019, UPI payments constituted 65% of the overall digital
payments.
The increase in both UPI and wallet transactions will have long lasting effects. Instant
cash transfers of the winnings on the real money skill-based gaming platforms have
motivated many players to play cash games on these platforms. Thus, contributing to
the market’s overall growth.
7. 6 | P a g e
3. Structure of Indian online skill-based Real Money
Gaming (RMG) market
Indian online gaming market is split into three broad categories – Mobile-first casual games,
skilled-based real-money gaming (RMG) and PC & Console based games, which are further
subdivided as below:
Source: Redseer IP
In skill-based real-money games, the user can play with real-money using his skill in the game
and the platforms generated revenue out of a cut (called “take rate”) from the pool money of
players whereas app-based games has the largest user base due to its low entry barriers.
Skilled based real-money gaming is a fast-growing segment in the online gaming space. This
is a forward-looking report that covers skill-based online real money gaming (RMG) market
and dynamics within.
8. 7 | P a g e
4.Skill-based real money gaming in India
Indian skill-based online real money gaming market is estimated at $ 600 Million in 2019
and is expected to become $ 3.8 Billion by 2024.
Online Gaming Landscape2 in India
Though small, Fantasy sports market is the fast-growing segment with expected CAGR ~60%
till 2024, in the skill-based real gaming market.
Source: Expert Interactions, Redseer Analysis
2
Online gaming market does not include PC games
9. 8 | P a g e
4.1 Fantasy Sports in India
The Fantasy Sports market in India is heating up with increasing user base and engagement
on the back of growing digital infrastructure (smartphone and internet penetration) and
increasing investor interest. By the end of 2019, total registered users on Fantasy sports
platforms is estimated to be more than 100 million. The market is growing exponentially and
is expected to be ~$ 2 Bn3 by 2024.
To the uninitiated, Fantasy sports is a form of online sports game where a user can create his
own team made up of real-life players from upcoming matches. Fantasy sports platform offer
both practice and paid/cash games - called “pay and play” fantasy games.
We deep dive into the market and bring out the key trends, developments and the outlook in
this report along five themes as below:
I. Market growth is fuelled by increased engagement and platform retention
The rise of fantasy sports in India has come at a time when traditional Indian games like
Kabaddi, Carrom are getting popularity and being promoted and organized at national level.
There has been an exponential growth in registered users across various fantasy sports
platforms, the industry has reported an average growth of 200 – 250% in the last two years.
The growth has also been across userbase, increased platform engagement, retention on the
platform and the better return per customer acquisition cost.
1. Rapidly Growing Userbase
Overall, the fantasy sports market had an estimated daily active user (DAU) of 7-8 million at
the end of 2018 that grew to ~13 million daily active users in the month of December 2019.
Source: Expert Interactions, Redseer Analysis
3
Market size includes the revenue earned by Fantasy sports platform from the share of the pot size on the
paid games
7-8
10-12
~13
Dec'18 July'19 Dec'19
Fantasy Sports: DAUs (Mn)
10. 9 | P a g e
Friends and family members have been found to be the most effective channel for awareness,
platform onboarding and activity on Fantasy sports platform. Majority of these platform
provide referral rewards to the existing member of the platform.
Source of awareness for a fantasy sports platform (N=200)
Source: Consumer Research
There are more than 60 fantasy sports platforms in India and their approach to customer
acquisition has been through referrals, social media, Advertisement during sports events like
IPL, World Cup etc. The top motivation to register on a platform is whether they have a friend
on that platform.
Motivation to sign-up on a Fantasy Sports Platform (N=304)
Source: Consumer Research
More than 80% of users has Dream11 as the most preferred Fantasy sports platform followed
by MPL, a newbie in the space that has seen exponential growth across most of the
performance metrics.
Fantasy sports users ageing (the duration they have been using) on platform have similar
usage frequency. However, the usage spikes during sports event like IPL, World Cup,
Champions league.
17%
17%
13%
13%
11%
9%
8%
Playing fantasy on online is a good time pass
Thrill of victory
Fantasy sports is easy to learn and play
I love sports, so make team on online platform
To win money
I can create groups with my friends
It helps me relax and release stress
68%
39%
16%
2%
Referral from Friends/ Family
Advertisement (IPL, TV, Billboard, etc.)
Online portals such as FB, blogs, websites
Smartphone app store
11. 10 | P a g e
Platform usage frequency by user ageing on platform (% users) (N=200)
Frequency
Playing Fantasy sports since
1 - 6 months 6 - 12 months > 12 months
Daily
During sports tournament
Fortnightly
Monthly
Twice a week
Source: Consumer Research
2. Growing Platform Engagement
Platform engagement4 on Fantasy sports platform was ~65 Minute in December 2018 that
spiked to ~80 Minutes in July 2019, largely due to IPL season and Cricket world cup. However,
the engagement effectively grew to ~75 Minutes by December 2019. The growth in the
engagement has mostly come from Tier-2+ cities. Higher engagement in Tier-2+ cities is
driven by mobile-first content consumption behaviour of the users, low cost of data and
availability of time to spend on Fantasy sports platform. Additionally, users in these cities also
have better knowledge and skill of the game when compared with players in the Metro and
Tier-1 cities. MPL has higher platform engagement in the market due to its offering in casual
games in additional to fantasy sports
The engagement is expected to grow by ~50% due to the T-20 world cup which generally see
a higher engagement as compared with test and ODI games.
3. High user, though seasonal, retention
With rising adoption of fantasy sports and frequent sports seasons, the customer retention
among paid users increased by almost 50%.
Dream11, in H1-2019, saw user retention of ~25% on monthly basis whereas MPL, second in
the pecking order, saw more than 30% retention. The retention has been a result of increased
registered users on the platforms driven by awareness (celebrity endorsement, word-of-mouth
etc.) and increasing platform engagement. MPL, unlike Dream11, offers casual games in
addition to fantasy sports augmenting their active users relative to other platforms that offers
only fantasy sports – an advantage over other platforms.
Further, conversion from paid to free users has been driven by promotions, referral bonuses/
cash offered to the users and by keeping game participation amount to as low as INR 15.
4
Platform engagement refers to “time spent (in minutes) by a user on the game day – the day he plays”
12. 11 | P a g e
Among the paid users, ~82% have started playing with cash within 1 – 2 weeks of signing-up
on the platform.
Time taken to start playing on cash (% paid users) (N=304)
Source: Consumer Research
The growing active users on the platforms driven by user retention as it matures on the
platform and increasing conversion from free to paid user would impact overall growth of the
online fantasy sports market.
On an average, a cash player plays with ~INR 600 per month on Fantasy sports platforms.
Users from Tier-2 cities are increasingly playing with more
Average monthly game play amount on Fantasy sports platform (N=304)
Source: Consumer Research
II. While early adopters of fantasy games came from Metro, Tier-1 cities, next
wave of users to come from Tier-2+ cities
More than 30% of the registered users on Fantasy sports are from non-metro cities which will
further increase by the end of 2019. Rising awareness of fantasy sports led by word of mouth,
increasing social media (Facebook, YouTube, Sharechat, Tiktok etc.) usage – average social
media users in India spends ~146 minutes on these platform-, and push by fantasy sports
platforms are driving the adoption in non-metro cities. Nearly 75% of the users on MPL are
from outside of Metro and Tier-1 cities.
While users from Tier-2+ cities are increasing, their conversion is relatively low which is
expected to increase as their engagement on platform improves and become comfortable with
33%
30%
19%
1-2 weeks
Within a week
Immediately after signing off
50%
32%
11%
6%
₹100-₹500
₹500-₹1000
₹1000-₹2000
less than ₹100
13. 12 | P a g e
digital payment. Major players in the market started focusing on both these aspects. On one
side, they are improvement the experience by introducing multiple formats of the games that
keep the user engaged and on the other hand, they have partnered with major wallets (Paytm,
PhonePe, Amazon Pay, MobiKwik)
III. Spike in Daily Active Users: Market witnesses’ seasonality in the active users
on fantasy sports platforms and sees spike during major sports events
Sports tournaments are the bonanza period for online fantasy sports platforms and their daily
active users’ spikes and the conversion from free to paid/ cash users increases significantly.
These are the events when the platforms acquire new users either by offering referrals
programs or some strategic partnerships.
Post IPL and Cricket World Cup in 2019, Daily active users on MPL increased to ~3 million as
opposed to ~1.2 million pre-IPL. For some platforms, number of paid users grew by more than
300% during these events.
The total revenue contribution on online fantasy sports platform during sports tournament
goes to as high as 50% of their total annual revenue as both factors of growth is at play –
growth in user base and conversion from free to paid users.
IV. Monetizing fantasy sports has been a challenge, but increasing users and
higher engagement on these platforms to strengthen monetization opportunity
With more than 100 million active users on fantasy sports platforms, these platforms can
monetize them by selling advertisement, sports merchandise or by keeping a % of pool money
of the paid contest to themselves before distributing it to the winner. However, majority of
these players are not selling ads or merchandise and monetizing only by keeping a % of the
pool money, called service fee or take rate
For top players in fantasy sports market, their app monetization is from paid users or a user
participating in the contest. Of the total pool money or pot-size in the contest, the platform
charges a service fee, called take rate. Dream11 keeps 15-20% of the pool money whereas MPL
charges 15%.
As of now, the ad monetization opportunity is relatively low due to advertiser’s preference to
buy ads on traditional media like televisions. However, increase in userbase and higher
engagement on fantasy sports platforms on the back of rising dominance of digital media will
ensure significant advertisement opportunity.
V. How has the Life-time-value and the customer acquisition costs (CAC) have
evolved over time?
Major fantasy sports players have spent aggressively on marketing in the past 2 years. Cricket
being the most popular sport in the country is watched by 700 Mn viewers. The
sport is a very large business, with huge amounts of money involved in it.
Dream 11 grew from 2 Mn users in 2016 to 8 Mn in 2017, further to 40 Mn in 2018 and is
expected to touch ~80 Mn by 2019. This kind of growth can be attributed to classic network
effects showcasing built up demand in the fantasy sports gaming market. As a result, the
customer acquisition costs are expected to shoot up along with the growing user base.
14. 13 | P a g e
Dream11 is estimated to have spent USD 121 Mn in FY19 compared with USD 33 Mn in the
previous fiscal on acquiring new customers. The CAC during this period is estimated to shoot
up to ~$6 from a meagre $2 during 2017. The average CAC in the industry is now in the
range of $4 - $9.
15. 14 | P a g e
4.2 Skill-based card-based gaming in India
The skill based card-based gaming market has grown substantially in the last 2 years as the
market saw some clarity in terms on regulations. Earlier, a game of poker was never accepted
by the Indian consumers as much as it is now. Today, a large section of the millennial
population does not hesitate in trying their hand at the game. New age online portals that cater
mostly to millennials have also started showcasing poker as a game of skill rather than chance
via featuring multiple articles on their platform.
This market is estimated to be worth USD 400 Mn in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 1.8
Bn in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 35%. Skill based card-based gaming segment majorly
includes games like Rummy, Poker and Teen-Patti. Rummy commands the largest share in
terms of revenue followed by poker and then Teen-Patti. Leading players in the market include
rummy giant Rummy Circle, and Ace2Three and online poker players like Zynga, Adda52,
PokerStars etc.
With entertainment and gaming becoming the new buzzword in the internet sector, popular
horizontal5 platforms, with their massive captive customer base, introduced gaming on their
platform. While Flipkart introduced games on its app around mid-2019, other horizontals
started offering casual gaming in 2019. Paytm’s entry with Paytm First Games in late 2019 in
this segment has seen multi-fold user growth and active users on the platform.
Skill bases online casual gaming market size (USD Mn)
Source: Expert Interviews, RedSeer IP
We aim to dig deeper into the market and bring out the key trends, developments and outlook
of the skill based casual gaming market in this report along four themes as below:
I. Market growth is fuelled by increased awareness and regulatory amends
Past 2 years saw an increase in the skill based casual game users, especially Rummy. There
has been a recent surge in Rummy users which can be attributed to a supreme court ruling
5
Horizontal platforms are those that sells products across multiple categories e.g. electronics, fashion, large
appliances etc.
~400
~1800
2019 2024F
16. 15 | P a g e
that deemed the game as predominantly skill based. According to the ruling passed in 2017
rummy requires a certain amount of skill as the fall of cards need to be memorized and the
building up of rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards.
However, gambling is a state subject and different states have reacted differently on court’s
ruling. Currently, gambling is only legal in Goa, Daman, Sikkim and Nagaland. In July 2015,
Calcutta high court exempted poker from being punishable under gambling laws. In 2017,
Telangana gaming Amendment bill that bans all games of skill like Poker and Rummy
II. Metros cities still account for majority of the user base, registered users
from Tier I & II cities is expected to double by 2023
In 2019, ~25% of the registered users on the casual gaming platforms were from non-metro
cities. This share is expected to reach more than 35% by the end of 2020. Rising awareness of
the online card-based gaming platforms led by word of mouth, and aggressive marketing
campaigns by the players would lead to this increase.
Metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore are the leaders in terms of the number of casual
game users. Tier I cities like Patna, Indore and Jaipur are also seeing traction. Moreover, the
average time spent by these gamers has crossed 1 hour which is significantly more than time
spent on platforms like Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon Prime.
Skill-based online casual gaming registered user base split
Source: Expert Interviews, RedSeer IP
III. Unlike fantasy sports, skill-based casual gaming market witnesses lower
seasonality in the active users
There is a lower level of seasonality in card-based games as compared to fantasy sports.
Festivals like Diwali and Dussehra are the windfall period for online skill based real money
gaming platforms and their daily active users spike a little. During this period the percentage
paid user base also increases, from 18% pre-festive to 25% post festive. These are the events
when the platforms acquire new users by aggressive marketing campaigns and by spreading
awareness by organizing sponsored championships.
75%
65%
25%
35%
2019 2020
Metro/Tier1 Tier2/3
17. 16 | P a g e
Post the festive time in 2019, overall Daily active users on the casual gaming platforms
increased to ~10 million as opposed to ~7 million pre-festive time. Some platforms saw an
increase of more than 100% in their daily active user base.
Skill-based online card-based gaming: DAU (Mn)
Source: Expert Interviews, RedSeer IP
IV. Platforms operate on a hybrid model, by charging commissions on the
winning pot and by deducting commissions on individual player deposits
Platforms running poker games earn by way of charging commission ranging from 10-15% on
the winning pot. Some platforms also deduct commission from individual player deposits.
Players like Poker Dangal monetizes on its platform by charging 3-4% service fees. They also
charge entry fees for tournaments.
Rummy platforms earn revenue through rake, which is a percentage of wins collected from
winners. This take rate varies from platform to platform as is in the range of 10%-20%.
While the casual games market is still dominated by free-to-play games, with ~28% of the total
casual gamers now willing to pay for cash tournaments or for an additional boost to move
further in the game. However, most of the casual game platforms are still advertisement
dependant.
4.3 Emerging Horizontals in India’s Gaming Industry
The industry is also witnessing an emergence of horizontal players in the market. While on
one hand there are large horizontal players like Paytm who are entering the real money
gaming segment with a large portfolio of games, on the other hand, the incumbents are
currently operating in the card-based gaming, are introducing fantasy sports to diversify
their offerings.
Current players in the fantasy sports industry are also introducing newer formats like hockey,
kabaddi to minimize the losses due to the seasonal nature of the industry.
5
7
10-11
Dec'18 July'19 Dec'19
18. 17 | P a g e
5. Regulatory aspects of Online Real Money gaming
The landmark high court ruling passed in 2017, granted favourable statuses of being skill-
based to both fantasy sports and card-based games. According to the ruling, games of skill
have been interpreted to mean games which favours skill over chance. Games which satisfy
the skill test are not prohibited under the Gaming enactments and may legally be offered
through most states in India. Indian states have two views: One group of states – Telangana,
Orrisa, Assan, Nagaland and Sikkim, considers them as platform for “game of chance” and
declare it illegal in their respective states whereas other group of states considers them as
platform for “game of skill”. Residents of the states banning fantasy sports can still play on
these apps. However, the chances of getting the rewards/money from them is abysmal since
there is a KYC verification involved during the money withdrawal process.
5.1 Implication to Fantasy sports
The High court of Punjab and Haryana held that Dream11’s format of fantasy sports was s
game of skill rather than chance, favouring its legality under the Public Gambling Act. 1867.
According to the court, success in this format requires the player to exercise extensive
knowledge of the game. There element of skill takes precedence over luck or chance to decide
the outcome of the game.
The legal restriction on fantasy sports is less likely to impact user growth and with the
advancement of digital India and recent Govt. ruling in favour of fantasy sports, the user
retention and conversion ratio is expected to grow.
In the unlikely event of remaining states banning fantasy sports, its userbase will continue to
rise though as free users and while the revenue from service fee will get restricted, revenue
coming from advertisement sales will increase
5.2 Implication to Skill-based card-based gaming
With respect to casual games like Rummy, the Supreme Court specifically tested the game of
thirteen card Rummy on the skill versus chance test and concluded that Rummy was primarily
a game of skill.
The Supreme Court based its conclusion primarily on the reasoning that “Rummy required a
certain amount of skill as the fall of the cards needed to be memorized and the building up of
Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards.”
Currently different states have different perspectives on the legality of skill based casual
gaming in India.
Nagaland has become the first state in India to award a license to a online poker operator.
According to the Kolkata high court’s ruling passed in 2015, poker is no longer punishable
under gambling laws. In 2013, the Karnataka high court decriminalized playing poker in
recreational clubs
19. 18 | P a g e
6. Way Forward
6.1 VC Investments in real money skill-based gaming
Money typically flows where the users are, India’s real money gaming userbase is expected to
grow from more than ~100 million in 2019 to ~400 million by 2024. This growth in user base
is going to fuel the market from USD 600 Mn in 2019 to more than USD 3.8 Bn by 2024 will
be fuelled by investment in the sector, led by investors and incumbents.
The skill-based real money gaming market is an investment opportunity for VC’s, now that the
sector is commanding the same popularity and interest as other internet-based sectors.
Fantasy sports has already seen a Unicorn, Dream11, which is backed by the likes of Tencent,
Kalaari capital etc. It should not be a surprise that we see country’s another unicorn from the
RMG sector.
6.2 Expected consolidation in the space
So far, India’s real money skill-based gaming market is seeing trends that were observed in
sectors like E-commerce and online travel. Although there are more than 50 players in the
fantasy sports market and more than 30 players in the real money casual gaming market a few
large players like Dream11, Junglee Games, Playgames own the majority share in the market.
With close to 100 players in the market, the sector is expected to see consolidation through
mergers and acquisitions.
6.3 Regulatory Support
In the last 2 years the Indian RMG sector has seen numerous court rulings in its favour.
Fantasy sports was legalised post a high court ruling in 2015. The supreme court in 2017,
deemed the game of rummy as a game of skill.
However, the legality of these games is still dependent on every state’s stand them. Some states
still consider real money games as games of chance rather than hindering the growth of user
base.
It will be interesting to see the dynamics and growth story of the skill-based real money gaming
market once the regulations become clear.
6.4 Gaming Industry – The Covid Effect
Online Gaming is one of the very few industries that has experienced a growth during the
Corona Virus pandemic. India has seen an unprecedented 2x surge in the number of online
gamers with longer hours of engagement amid the lockdown period. While it offers an
optimistic image of the industry, investors are eagerly waiting to see if the companies can
retain the newly acquired gamers after things go back to normal to create a sustainable
pipeline of revenue.
20. 19 | P a g e
7. Appendix
7.1 Glossary
City Class Definition
Tier-1 Metros (Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and
Hyderabad) and Cities with population more than 10 Lakh (1 million)
Tier 2+ & Rural All of the following categories:
Tier-2 • Cities with population between 5-10 Lakh (0.5-1 million)
Tier-3 • Cities with population between 2-5 Lakh (0.2-0.5 million)
Tier-4 • Cities with population 1-2 Lakh (0.1-0.2 million)
Rest of Urban • Other cities classified as Urban as per Census 2011
Rural • Cities/Towns/Villages classified as Rural as per Census 2011
7.2 Customer Research
We reached out to 220 users of real-money gaming platforms across city-class. The mix of
users are as below:
Sample Mix Metro Tier-1 Tier-2
Fantasy Sports 50 50 25
Casual Gaming 50 50 25
Total 100 100 50
Key themes of the discussions with the customers were:
1. Platform onboarding experience
a. Awareness
b. Source of awareness
c. Decision making criteria
2. Platform engagement
a. Platform usage and frequency
b. Preference for a platform
c. Cash players’ platform usage behaviour
d. Experience across parameters for top real-money gaming platforms