Having rebranded its gaming platform from Gamepind to FirstGames, parent company Paytm has set about delivering India’s number one fantasy sports destination.
The fintech firm is also looking to raise $30 million to fund the continued expansion of the platform – a joint venture with AGTech Holdings Limited.
Despite only launching in February 2018, it reached over 30 million users and 100 million game plays in May, before launching fantasy cricket – Paytm First Captains – to coincide with the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup in England from 30 May.
Competing with products such as the $1.1 billion valued Tencent-backed Dream 11, it has already been a huge success, with transactions growing by five times for the month, while the payment rate (payer/total user) for these transactions is said to be more than twice as high as that of other products in the market.
Paytm First Captains has targeted a total of one million players with a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $4-5 million for the tournament, which concludes at Lords on 14 July.
There are about 20 million fantasy gamers in India right now, according to a joint report by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) and KPMG, up from just 2 million in 2016.
The same report has projected that the Indian fantasy sports market touches $5 billion in the next two years, with IFSG estimating that 100 million will take to one or more of the country’s platforms/apps by the end of 2019.
Source: SBC News
