Adda52Rummy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of gaming and hospitality company Delta Corp Ltd. Delta Corp is listed on the Indian bourses. Shivanandan Pare, CEO of Adda52Rummy, talks about the business, growth plans and whether or not fantasy game players partnering with IPL has a positive impact on card platforms.

Excerpts:

Can you explain how the revenue model works?

There are 21-card variants, popular in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and a 13-card variant popular in South India. Then, there are sub-variants like a pool or deal rummy, where those coming in are charged an entry fee and the winner takes it all concept too. And we have daily tournaments.

We charge a facilitation fee or a percentage of the total money that is wagered by the consumers.

Money is collected through regular online payment mechanisms and consumers have wallets in the game, where their money is converted in chips and vice versa. We follow all KYC norms.

What is the market size of these online rummy games?

There are no published data. But going by rake revenue (platform earnings), it could be a ₹2,500-3,500-crore market.

Who are the players or what is the consumer base like?

Our consumer base is in South India, West India, and West Bengal. Consumers are mostly middle-aged (35-55-year-olds) businessmen or are self-employed; 75-78 per cent of them are men.

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Fantasy gaming companies are partnering the IPL. Will this give a fillip to online card games?

If you see, fantasy game platforms are closely associated with cricket and that is where they operate. They benefit with their association of cricket. For instance, their games are around creation of cricket teams; and that is where it makes sense for them to participate in the IPL.

If you ask me, they are popularising the real-money games segment. They are expanding and popularising the category; increase the consumer base and hook new consumers. So, yes, it helps the ecosystem as a whole.

Do you get RoI in such sponsorships?

Whether they get the right RoI or not, it is debatable. But, yes, since cricket is a religion in India, IPL becomes a great property to be associated with. Whether we will invest in IPL or not, that is not the focus. We can look at performance-based marketing through association with cricket news portals and so on.

However, if some of our plans solidify over the short to medium term, then Adda52Rummy can also look at investments in IPL.

So, is online rummy picking up as a segment?

There was a sharp growth since the lockdown, with people staying at home and taking to these online games. Normally, there is a healthy two to three-digit growth the segment sees. However, there was a huge spike of 100 per cent, month-on-month, for April and May. Subsequently the growth tapered down to 10-20 per cent month-on-month.

As markets open up, I am sure there will be much more openness and acceptance for the category.

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Is this growth sustainable?

We are the leaders in poker (online). In terms of sustainability, we have seen that once users get hooked to online gaming or on to the platform’s rules, they stick on and there is a healthy annualised growth of 20 per cent for the industry.

Earlier, online rummy was part of our poker platform. We put it out as a separate category and are now aggressively looking at gaining market share. The ambition is to be amongst the top players soon.

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What are the regulations around online wagering games?

It being a State subject, some States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Nagaland, Odisha, and Assam have a ban on online wagering games. So we have geo-fencing and IP fencing to prevent players from these States coming online and playing.

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