India’s skill-based gaming market is expected to more than triple in the next four years due to increased smartphone connectivity, including in rural areas. By one estimate, market revenues will grow from $600 million a year to $2 billion by 2023. The market was valued at just $20 million in 2014.
At the World Gaming Executive Summit in Barcelona, CEO Naveen Goyal of Adda52.com told delegates that smartphone penetration is forecast to rise from 350 million to 600 million in that same period.
Skill-based games such as rummy, poker and fantasy sports are legal in India, though pure games of chance are banned. Sports betting is also currently banned, though Goyal predicts it will be legalized.
“Rural growth is surging and is largely untapped so far,” he said, adding that just 4 to 5 of India’s 29 states currently contribute 60 percent of gambling revenue. Adda52 was acquired by India’s biggest gaming group, Delta Corp, in 2017.
