In recent years, gambling has become one of India’s fastest-growing industries. The gaming industry in India is equally attractive to all socio-economic groups and age groups. The gaming industry has evolved with the transformation of media from TV to digital devices and the obvious dependence on digital devices to meet the needs and expectations of the population.
India is experiencing strong growth in online gambling like China and South Korea. With 35-50 million Internet users, India has piqued interest in the hard-to-hack online video game industry. PUBG Mobile became the most popular online game in India in 2018 and became the world’s largest market on January 14, 2020, with 11.6 million downloads [21] and 55.5 million PUPG Mobile players.
India is one of the five largest markets for mobile games worldwide in terms of the number of users. The online gaming industry in India is expected to attract more than 40 million online gamers by 2020-22. As investment continues to grow, video games in India are expected to grow in the country.
In FY2019, online gambling in India was estimated at 6,200 crore ($870 million) in a market with an estimated 300 million gamblers. Monthly active users of the top 100 mobile games and the amount of time they spend playing online games remained at 10-15% after the 2020 lockdown, indicating the establishment of a new normal. In 2020 (Q1-Q3 2020) India has the highest casual mobile gaming downloads (excluding China) (with normalization in the early days of the lockdown in the first quarter of 2021) with 7.3 billion downloads and representing 17 percent of global mobile game downloads.
The online gaming segment in India is estimated to be 136 billion rupees in FY21 and is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 2.1 percent and reach a size of 290 billion rupees during the year. Of these, the most significant segment is casual gaming, which will reach 60 billion rands by 2020 and account for more than 40 percent of total online gaming revenue. In the period 20.6-2017, the industry generated total revenues of Rs730 crore for card-based games and Rs67 crore for fantasy sports.
According to a report from the boutique investment bank, Maple Capital Advisors called “Gaming: India’s Story”, the gaming industry in India is expected to grow up to 41% of its market value by 2024, with a fixed value of $3,750 million. Mobile gaming is not only an affordable and different way to connect with friends during a lockdown, but it has also become a profitable industry. The looming advances in India’s telecommunications industry with the introduction of 3G, 4G, and the upcoming 5G coupled with growth in the production of online gambling and gambling.
The global video game market is forecast to reach $15.9 billion in 2020, surpassing the total box office and music industry revenues of $42.2 billion and $20.0 billion in 2019, respectively.
The ability to play video games on the new computer devices of the age offers users an immersive experience. Online gaming offers the opportunity to connect with real players, participate in gaming events, complete rewarding tasks, and post achievements on social media. Best of all, eSports live streaming on mobile devices will become easier for emerging players from Tier II and Tier IV cities in India with the availability and access of pocket-friendly smartphone gaming devices and hardware to achieve fame and build a legacy in the world of eSports if they acquire the right skills and make a long-term effort.
The rise of mobile gaming has democratized eSports tremendously and will continue to democratize them shortly. While PC and other forms of gaming continue to hold their own, mobile gaming will dominate the Indian gaming market and play a major role in becoming a key factor and catalyst for the promising future of eSports in India through continuous innovation and concerted collaboration efforts by all stakeholders.
The growing popularity of games in India will lead to greater demand for content creators and next-gen innovators. The symbiotic existence of content and games is expected to give a major boost to the Indian gaming industry given that the long-term global success of the game market only occurs when it is accompanied by continued innovation, excellent graphics, and the ability to create high-quality content in India that adapts to any theme or language. A critical aspect of an interactive ecosystem is a dedicated customer who is enthusiastic about developers and innovators, which will ensure that developers and marketers work together to make India a global hub for the video and VR games industries and domestic themed games.
India is a young country where 75% of the population is under 45 years old, making it one of the largest potential markets for online gambling in terms of volume. The gaming ecosystem in the Indian economy is made up of players of all ages, as well as game developers, designers, investors, and marketers who work hard to provide players with the latest and most innovative game concepts. This interest and potential have made India one of the leading gaming markets in the emerging global economy.
Due to the high propensity of young people to play online games on their smartphones, more than 60% of Indian online players are between 18 and 24 years old, making India a model country for the promotion of online games. The Indian population is undergoing increasing urbanization, which encourages the growth of gambling in the country.
With the introduction of Steam in the early 2000s, Google Stadia and Microsoft cloud players, the profitable video game industry predicted the dominance of cloud gaming within a few years. The rise of cloud and console-free games is a key driver of the industry’s growth. The 2021 State of Online Gaming Report points out that with the increasing popularity of video game streaming, we will see players in India spend more than five hours a week watching other video games on Twitch and YouTube.