The online gaming industry in India can be broadly classified into 4 major segments viz.:
Fantasy Sports
Card based Gaming (Real Money Gaming)
E-Sports
Hyper Casual, Strategy, Social & Other Casual Gaming
Here's a snapshot of each of the above 4 segments:
1. Fantasy Sports
What it means - Online Fantasy games give its players an option to create their online fantasy team by selecting actual players playing in an upcoming real-life match, translating their sports knowledge to win prizes (classified as Game of Skill).
Major players in this Space - Dream11, Myteam11, HalaPlay
Sources of Revenue - Freemium, Pay-2-Play, Advertisements
Numbers that matter:
Total userbase by end of FY’20: 100Mn
No. of operators increased from 10 to 70 from 2016 to 2018.
71% of the traffic in mobile gaming is towards Fantasy Cricket
Dream11 dominates this segment
46% users of fantasy sports are paid users
2. Card based Gaming (Real Money Gaming)
What it means - In this category, users can play card games like Rummy, Poker etc. that are games of skill, to win prizes.
Major Players in this Space - Adda52Rummy, Adda52Poker, PokerStars, Khelo365
Sources of Revenue - Entry fees, Advertising, Betting
Numbers that matter
Online poker industry is growing at 35-40% p.a.
Userbase: 21Mn in 17-18
Total Revenue expected to be clocked in FY’20: $461Mn in FY20
3. E-Sports
What it means - In this category, the platforms organize gaming tournaments of its own game or using a base game like Counter Strike, Dota, Overwatch, FIFA. There is an entry fee, and the winner earns cash prizes.
Major Players in this Space - MPL, Nodwin Gaming
Sources of Revenue - Sponsorship, Entry fees, Advertisements, sale of merchandise, in app purchases
Numbers that matter
Total revenue clocked in FY’20: $68Mn
Revenue grew by 39% y-o-y
14% of the pie belongs to Nazara
124% CAGR in prize money offered (2016-2018)
Total Funding amount has grown by 50% CAGR in the last 5 years
83% users are male
4. Hyper Casual, Strategy, Social & Other Casual Gaming
What it means - In this category, users play simple to understand games with basic graphics to pass the time and for light entertainment like Puzzle, Action, Strategy, Racing, Arcade, Sports, Skill Based, Chance based.
Major Players in this Space - MPL, LudoKing, 8 Ball Pool, Candy Crush Saga
Sources of Revenue: Advertisement, Freemium, In app purchases
Numbers that matter:
38% of total funding in gaming sector is in this category
45% of gamers are Female
This article is a part of the February'21 edition of our Startup Newsletter. Here's the complete publication:
