Smartphones, telecom tariff war fuel online gaming business in India

On account of Smartphone penetrating Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities of India and telecom tariff war making the mobile internet data prices affordable for the people in the region have helped digital gaming companies to reach out to the semi-urban millennials. The industry insiders say that the recent development in infrastructure, dynamics in the tech enhancement in digital devices coupled with payment options falling in favour of this industry.

According to a joint report submitted by AC Neilsen and the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) states that close to 100 million Indians will play fantasy sports by 2019. The craze for the online game is not just in Metro cities but also in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as well.

Speaking on how digital gaming business is flourishing in India Prithvi Singh, Founder and CTO Gameskraft said, "The rise of digital gaming’s popularity in India is largely due to the widespread use of smartphones in the last ten years. Many game developers are capitalising on the growth in smartphone usage to build their businesses. In turn, games have emerged as the key driver of mobile app growth globally." He went on to add that in addition, while the price and accessibility of mobile data were once stumbling blocks, tariff wars between telecom operators over the past couple of years have made the commodity much cheaper in India. The recent development in infrastructure, dynamics in the tech enhancement in digital devices coupled with payment options falling in favour of this industry. 

"In India when it comes to the consumption of fantasy gaming the projected user base of fantasy games in India is on course to touch 100 million by 2020, which would still be just 30 per cent of online sports fans in India," said Prithvi Singh of Gameskraft.