The Indian gaming industry has exceeded street expectations to post a $3.8 billion revenue in FY2024. With rummy APK downloaded in their millions, real money games have contributed to $2.4 billion of it. The government is keener than ever to define the frameworks around this segment.
The success of real money games rests on the traditional popularity of skill games in India, which has been brought to the forefront by pioneers like the RummyCulture rummy game platform. Recently, renowned statistician, Professor Bimal Roy, has developed a skill games framework for India in collaboration with The Dialogue. Efforts like these are expected to foster more clarity in India as the country gears up for the next level of skill gaming revolution.
A Framework-Driven Revolution
A framework for real money games is expected to put the perennial confusion between skill and chance to rest. Professor Roy’s framework aims to establish industry-wide standardised mechanisms to segregate chance and skill-based games. Roy stated that the framework will appropriately classify legitimate skill-based games, which will protect the integrity of the market and the interest of the gamers as well.
Roy, a former Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, expected that the framework would provide regulatory clarity and form the foundation for the future of gaming regulation in India.
Good News for Skill Gaming Platforms
Regulatory clarity is one of the key developments that can benefit legitimate skill-based platforms like RummyCulture. This has been proven in the past, particularly in the 2015 Supreme Court judgment. Games based on chance are illegal in India as it depends on the player’s luck. The 2015 judgment ruled that online rummy is a game of skill and, therefore, cannot be considered a game of chance.
This ruling has been instrumental in the success of rummy platforms in India in the subsequent years. Investments in these games came thick and fast, and marketing the platform became free of restrictions. In hindsight, this has been a revelation for skill gaming in India, as real money games revenue skyrocketed. Real money platforms also became popular across the country, with platforms like RummyCulture now hosting more than 3 crore active players.
Pushing the Skill Gaming Revolution
While the recent framework and past judicial rulings have worked in favour of real money games in India, the platforms have played their part as well. Gaining the trust of the players is important for the success of skill gaming platforms like RummyCulture. Adjudged as the Nation’s Trusted Rummy App by Unomer, RummyCulture has built a safe gaming ecosystem to win players’ trust.
The practices adopted by RummyCulture serve as a checklist of things to do for up-and-coming skill gaming platforms to gain players’ trust. Randomness is a key component in online rummy, and RummyCulture is certified in this regard. Its Random Number Generator (RNG) is certified by Australia’s iTech Labs as fully fair and random. RummyCulture players stand an equal chance from their randomly shuffled deck of cards.
The penchant for skill games has been age-old in India. However, their online avatars have come along with certain unique problems. Download an unknown rummy APK, and chances are that it could be infested with bots. Such apps end up compromising the player experience and raising doubts over online rummy in general. However, legitimate platforms like RummyCulture have been proactive in their no-bot approach.
Skill gaming platforms in India are opting for no-bot certifications. This assures players that bots cannot interfere in the gameplay by controlling, mimicking, assisting, aiding or overriding the actions of the real players. RummyCulture has secured the financial aspects of gaming through payment gateways that strictly adhere to PCI DSS standards. Thanks to platforms like these, transacting in skill gaming in India is like any other legitimate financial transaction.
Of all the gaming segments, real money games have been quick to reach their audience in India. This is why it is a major revenue earner in Indian gaming. It is a matured market now, which is expected to grow at a steady CAGR of 8% till at least FY2029.
Growth of Skill Games Continues
The robust gaming ecosystem provided by platforms like RummyCulture ensured that a hefty GST burden did little to dampen real money gaming spirits in India. In FY2024, real money game platforms added more than $400 million to their topline. During this year, around 25% of Indian gamers have spent money on gaming.
With female gamers catching up with their male counterparts with 44% participation, the demand for skill gaming in India is poised to increase further. Also adding to the increased participation is the emergence of non-metro gamers, who now form 2/3rd of the total gamers in India. Games like rummy have a readymade popularity in the Indian heartlands. So, platforms like RummyCulture may continue to spearhead the skill gaming revolution in India.