During the first coronavirus-induced lockdown, gaming startup Baazi Games saw a rapid rise in its userbase. Two years since, its userbase has grown from 5.5 million in 2020 to 11.5 million.
In November 2021, a report by consulting firm BCG and investment firm Sequoia Capital predicted that India’s mobile gaming market is expected to triple, becoming a $5 billion+ market opportunity by 2025.
Titled Demystifying the Indian Mobile Gaming Market , it highlighted trends facilitating this growth — the rapid rise in the number of users, an expected rise in Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPUs), and an “unprecedented” level of investor interest in the sector.
Another report by gaming-focused fund Lumikai and consulting firm Redseer predicts that the “number of paid gamers in India will reach 235 million , from 95 million gamers in 2021”.
And one of the largest contributors to gaming revenue are real-money gamers — a segment, which is expected to see a growth of 30-40 percent in the next five years.
To a large extent, this unprecedented growth has been due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced people to stay at home — limiting recreational activities to the online world. Naturally, many turned to gaming.
This was made possible by several factors led by an increase in smartphone users and access to affordable internet.
Among the Indian players riding this wave is Baazi Games , a pioneer in India’s real-money gaming (RMG) industry, which saw its users grow from just 5.5 million in 2020 to 11.5 million in February 2022 , more than a 2X growth, fuelled by the pandemic. In a conversation with YourStory , Navkiran Singh , Founder and CEO, Baazi Games, says, “We saw a huge spike, especially during the first lockdown but not as much as household games like Ludo. But our segment, overall, saw a 20 to 25 percent jump during the first lockdown.” Making the right bets
In 2014, Baazi Games started by launching PokerBaazi , one of India’s earliest online poker platforms. The startup later expanded to fantasy sports with BalleBaazi in 2018, and online rummy with CardBaazi (previously known as […]
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