Despite the stressful demands of a board-exam year, 17-year-old Rikhil Chopra (name changed) spends upwards of two hours every day on gaming —fantasy cricket being his stated preference. “It’s my only release from boring studies and the constant nagging of my mother, which has become worse since I’ve been attending virtual school,” he explains, further adding, “I feel happy when I win money; on an average I make Rs 150-200 per match and up to Rs 2,000 in big matches. Once I got lucky and hit the jackpot of Rs 1 lakh!”
Chopra’s hobby-cum-obsession aptly reflects the growth of the sports gaming market in India over the last few years. A report published in 2019 by KPMG in collaboration with the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming stated that revenues were expected to reach `118.8 billion by 2023. The reasons cited were the availability of affordable smartphones, high-speed internet and reduced prices of data packages.
Ahmedabad-based Yudiz Solutions began as an IT company offering mobile app and web development services. Chirag Leuva, its CEO and Co-founder, says that they soon realised the immense potential of the gaming industry and diversified into game development in 2019 by launching 11Wickets, an app for fantasy cricket and football gaming. People select their best version of a team and bet on the performance of their chosen players in a live match. A sound knowledge of the game and research into past performances, coin toss results, the physical fitness of players, their weaknesses and inabilities make expert fantasy league players. During the recently-concluded Olympics, cricketing fans turned towards football fantasy leagues instead.
Operating on a similar vein is BalleBaazi, one of three verticals (the others being RummyBaazi and PokerBaazi) of Delhi-based Baazi Games. This app allows the user to pick from different formats of bowling or batting teams. Varun Ganjoo, the Co-founder and Marketing Director, explains, “We witnessed 70 percent CAGR growth over the last few years with a spike in our user base from seven million in 2020 to 10 million in 2021. During the pandemic, we kept our users hooked by introducing innovative features on our platforms.”
There is a plethora of fantasy sports apps on the market, but India Fantasy was the first to offer behind-the-scenes help. They provide in-depth match analysis and tips to help players pick the best combinations of teams, in turn allowing them to win big. Prateek Gupta, Founder and CEO of this Delhi-based company, highlights that apart from in-depth insight for fantasy cricket, football, and basketball, the platform also caters to popular e-gaming sports like Free Fire, Call of Duty, and PUBG. The Olympics gave them the opportunity to explore other sports as well.
Video gaming or e-sports are not far behind fantasy gaming in this regard. Soham Thacker, Founder and CEO of Ahmedabad-based Gamerji, a platform that hosts e-sport tournaments and private matches between gamers, shares, “We have grown from having 1,50,000 users in March 2020 to over 1.7 million users at the end of July 2021. Most other entertainment activities came to a standstill, which pushed gaming enthusiasts to focus on the virtual tournaments that we were organising.”
Ultimately, the aspect of gamification is the real attraction. A study conducted by American software firm Autodesk showed that creating a storyline and implementing a variable reward system and in-game benefits to incentivise, resulted in 54 percent increase in trial usage and 15 percent increase in buy clicks. Hence, any digital activity can be popularised through gamification, as evident from the success of FitWarz, the gamified vertical of OneFitPlus, a Hyderabad-based fit-tech company promoting holistic health and wellness. Described as India’s first multiplayer fitness game, it motivates users to exercise through a competitive real-time multiplayer experience. They win HealthCoins for scaling different levels of training and reaching health goals, which can be redeemed for gifts.
The KPMG study highlights that 74 percent of people surveyed played fantasy sports and e-games at least three times a week; a worrisome statistic highlighting the addictive nature of these games. Recently, China disallowed more than three hours a week of gaming for school-going children in an attempt to curb over-dependence on these platforms. Fortunately, the platforms themselves are waking to these realities. An example of this is Baazi Games’ Care Initiative, which is a programme that helps players manage stress by consulting expert psychologists without cost. Their team also monitors playing patterns to keep a check on over-use.
HOW TO ACCESS
11Wickets
✥ App available for download on 11wickets.com and works on Android and Apple devices
✥ Players can sign up for free through their mobile phones and can choose from:
Free play
Private League
Mega Contests
BalleBaazi/PokerBaazi/
RummyBaazi
Apps can be downloaded from respective official websites:
Pokerbaazi.com
Rummybaazi.com
Ballebaazi.com
✥ Entry fees are charged for leagues, from which a certain percentage goes to the platform as fees
India Fantasy
✥ Can be accessed on its website Indiafantasy.com
✥ A premium service called India Fantasy Elite will soon be launching which creates an ecosystem of fantasy apps in India, providing customised offers and codes for India Fantasy viewers
GamerJi
✥ App can be downloaded on Android, iOS or via websiteGamerji.com
✥ Tournament prices range from free to as high as `500. Prize pools vary as per the game
FitWarz
✥ App can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple App Store
✥ Game is free for anyone who has purchased a compatible FitKit/RPM branded treadmill or Spin Bike