Indian online rummy gaming market estimated to reach $1.4 billion by 2024: PMI CEO Anton Rublievskyi – Times Now

The Online Gaming industry witnessed a massive growth during the pandemic in India. 

During the pandemic, with restrictionsimposed all across the country, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for India's online gaming industry with millions of users switching to online gaming to kill time. Gone are the days when online gaming was just used for leisure. It has now emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in India, with companies splurging huge money to engage more users on their platforms.

Speaking to timesnownews.com, Anton Rublevskyy - CEO of PMI - a gaming company, shared his views on how the gaming industry witnessed a meteoric rise during the pandemic.Rublevskyy also spoke about the marketing initiatives taken byParimatch international in the last years, the challenges being faced by the online gaming and betting industry in India, and his prediction of how the Indian online rummy gaming market grew from $335 million in 2019 and is estimated to reach $1.4 billion by 2024.

1) How did your iGaming journey start and what does it mean to you?

I started working in the IT sphere back in 2004 at the age of 18 with the project mobilnik.ua, a website dedicated to mobile phones. In 2007, the company was sold to the Obozrevatel media holding. In 2008, I launched two new projects based in Ukraine called Technoportal and Autoportal, websites for comparing prices of new and used tech and auto products, respectively. In collaboration with CIS, I opened a joint India-based business Autoportal.com, an online marketplace to distribute new cars all over India. It used to sell 3,500 brand new cars per month, which resulted in about $25 million in income. I met a Parimatch stakeholder in 2019 and by September I became a part of the company. This is the way PMI got its start. In PMI, I have a bunch of ambitious and exciting goals. The main focus and challenge is entering developing markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

2) Tell us about the brands stint in India so far and how is the team working towards further elevating the consumer experience?

Parimatch brand is innovative and has got an impressive coverage. PMI is a company focused on the setting up and implementation of the Parimatch brand in the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It provides a wide range of necessary services (including tech, marketing, and communications) in the spheres of the gambling and betting industries. Innovations, new technologies, and a willingness to provide the most worthwhile gaming experience are the key drivers to move PMI forward. The Parimatch international team makes every possible effort to make iGaming even more attractive for the growing number of Indians who adore online betting and casinos.

3) What are some of the marketing initiatives youve undertaken in the last 1 year?

Brand Parimatch is a fast-growing and dynamically developing tech company that goes beyond its current competitors. We are so dedicated and engaged in our intensive work that we manage to test a huge number of hypotheses and various marketing projects throughout the year. The company pays attention to expanding and disseminating its presence everywhere, building a strong brand and attracting new customers. The main focus of our brand is to build trust. Our company has a 25-year history and more than a million loyal customers worldwide, and it strives to gain the customers trust. We managed to cope with certain limitations of the tools while applying all the necessary modern marketing approaches to reach our audience. We use various marketing channels to convey information about our product to hundreds of millions of Indians. These are social networks, influencers, and various sponsorship activities around the world. 2021 was a breakthrough year for us as we signed cooperation agreements with a huge number of football clubs, including Juventus, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester.

4) How the pandemic has changed the way Indians approach online betting?

The outbreak of the pandemic and all the restrictions on mass meetings and sports events impacted the sphere of online betting more than at any other time and sparked the rise of the industry. As 1.3 billion Indians were forced to stay at home and stare at the computer in search of entertainment and fun, online gambling was brought to a new level of online casino unparalleled booming. The Indian online rummy gaming market grew from $335 million in 2019 and is estimated to reach $1.4 billion by 2024. The market shares of online casinos rose tremendously. The total revenue from casino games will reach US $34 million in 2022, and it is expected to have an annual growth rate (GAGR 2022-2026) of 9.66%. The volume of the market is expected to reach US $50 million by 2026. Other online sports available 24/7 grew in popularity as well, and table-tennis became one of those. But the most significant impact of the pandemic on the market was the great shift from offline to online, especially when it comes to payments.

5) What's the future of online betting in India according to you?

India is one of the biggest nations, having a huge number of sports fans of cricket and other kinds of sports. It is one of the key players in the iGaming industry. The Indians live in a technologically advanced country and are fond of betting. Especially in the conditions of mandatory lockdowns when digital entertainment is the only way to have fun with family, friends, and like-minded people. The Indian people regard betting as a part of sports, just like a spice for food. More Indians are getting involved in online gambling and sports betting. Technological advancements (including, among other things, affordability of the Internet, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality), a variety of games, and the increased popularity of online gambling enhance the industrys growth. The market will grow bigger and get legalized in different states step-by-step, and the gambling industry will become a well-structured one.

6) What are some of the challenges for Online Betting companies in India?

A huge demand for online casinos and betting is the main indicator of a huge potential of online gambling in India. As there are no legal frameworks in terms of operation and taxation to define online gambling, legalization is the keystone of casino creation and promotion. Regulation and licensing is both necessary and highly demanded. It helps both parties benefit most since, on the one hand, it protects the players rights, and on the other hand, it lets businesses work to their full potential, pay taxes, and build strong brands along with having a long-term business.

7) In terms of job opportunities in the iGaming industry, what can be expected in the next 5 years?

The iGaming industry is highly technological. A huge deficit of IT specialists is observed in the industry. Gaming product development is quite a complicated task (due to the update of the millions of coefficients several times every second) and the need for a stable, and well-paid job. A mistake can cause millions of dollars of damage. Professionals in marketing and analytics are in high demand. Indias market value for the gaming industry was 62 billion INR in 2019 and was estimated to grow to 250 billion INR by 2024. The number of employees is estimated to be up to 40, 000 by 2022. The growing number of job opportunities is the best indicator of the rapid growth in the sphere.

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Indian online rummy gaming market estimated to reach $1.4 billion by 2024: PMI CEO Anton Rublievskyi - Times Now