India has been the centre of attention of various tech companies and businesses for years now.
There are quite a few reasons for this – for starters, it’s a massive yet relatively young and untapped market. The potential profits for the right kind of service in India are in the billions, and the world’s biggest gaming operators are very much privy to this fact.
As a result, the iGaming companies are starting to focus on catering specifically to the Indian market. As an example, customers can now enjoy playing Andar Bahar live online. This allows them to enjoy this traditional Indian betting game with live dealers streamed right to their mobile device – which was a rarely seen option just a few years ago.
Why is the Indian mobile market so important?
A recent study by KPMG and google dubbed 2019 the “Year of Mobile Gaming in India.” There are several factors which led to such a development.
- India’s young gaming population. More than 75% of India’s populace is younger than 45. Studies have shown that the younger a person is, the more likely they are to chose mobile devices as their go-to means of enjoying services – gaming and gambling included.
- With more than 560 million internet users, online services are the obvious choice for a lot of companies.
- Rising living standards. With the rise of the IT sector in recent decades, more and more young Indians have increased disposable income. This leaves them more willing to spend on entertainment such as mobile gaming.
- Initiatives such as Prime Minister Modi’s mobile phone plan are pushing the numbers of Indian mobile users even further. It’s becoming quite clear that mobile devices are India's chosen form of internet access.
All of this is coming to a point where an ambitious company cannot afford to ignore the growing demands in the world’s second-most populous country – and the world’s fastest-growing economy.
What does this mean for Indian players?
From the perspective of the average consumer, this sudden increase in competition can only bring positive things. Think of it this way – if you wanted to enjoy some live games just a few years ago, your choices would be severely limited. Besides, most of these gaming operators would focus largely on European and North American markets simply because that was the industry standard for years. India was relegated to a secondary market at best for years.
Times are changing, however. Due to everything we mentioned above, companies are scrambling to gain a foothold among young Indian gamers. Industry giants such as Betway and Bet365 are creating options specifically targeted towards Indian customers and their needs. Besides Andar Bahar, more and more casinos are adding games such as Indian Rummy and Teen Patti.
Live-streamed games seem to be especially noteworthy in this market. The reasons for this are largely up to speculation – perhaps the young populace is more attracted to innovative technologies such as live feeds of dealers. Nevertheless, some of the top live dealer mobile casinos India are offering incredible promotions and bonuses in an effort to attract new customers. That is why it’s a better time to be an i-gaming enthusiast in India than ever before.
The future of mobile gaming in India
The complete mobile gaming industry in India is currently valued at around $200 million. However, real-money gaming only accounts for about a third of this. These numbers are still relatively low compared to, say, the UK’s gambling profits which are counted in the billions, but that’s not the main draw of the Indian market.
Exponential growth is the name of the game here. If current trends are to continue, this number is expected to reach a whopping $405 million by 2022. This gives companies an excellent incentive to invest early, and invest heavily. If you’re interested in mobile gaming, we would advise you to take the opportunity now while the promotions and bonuses still last.