Investment in gaming rises 78% in India
Gaming investment in India reached US$173m in 2020.
India.- Investment in the Indian gaming sector is at an all-time high, having increased by 78 per cent year-on-year to US$173m according to data from the tracking platform Tracxn.
India now has over 300 million gamblers, who have increased the amount of time they spend gaming by 45-60 per cent during Covid-19 lockdowns, according to Financial Express.
Meanwhile, according to the Indian think tank, Niti Aayog, the Indian fantasy sports industry recently overtook the US in size.
Among the biggest investments in the sector this year was the investment of US$90m in Mobile Premier League (MPL) by Pegasus Tech Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Times Internet.
There was also a US$40.1m investment in JetSynthesys by DSP Group, Jetline Group and Triveni Engineering & Industries. Meanwhile, WinZO raised US$18min equity funding from investors including Kalaari Capital.
Parth Chadha, founder of EWar Games, said: “We saw a good boost in casual gaming and on the esports/streaming product as well. We last raised funds in February 2020 and leveraged that money to optimise the product. We continue to post month-on-month.”
In some states, such as Assam, Orissa and Telangana, fantasy sports remain illegal, while in others regulation is ambiguous. Tamil Nadu recently passed an ordinance that bans online gaming as a whole.
