Reports from KPMG suggest that the online gaming market in India will grow by around 113% to approximately ?290 billion ($3.91 billion), by 2025. By then the industry is expected to attract around 657 million users as opposed to around 433 million now.
This growth potential is leading to great opportunities for gaming start-ups in the country. As
stated by JustGamblers, “Many Indian technology creatives are recognising the opening for games of skill that users can play for reward. You only have to look at success stories like Zupee to see that potential exists in the sector.”
It’s not just the experts at JustGamblers who are citing Zupee as a success story in the gaming sector. Many of those in the know recognise the start-up as a shining light especially given its latest funding success.
$30 million is the latest batch of funding for Zupee
The recent $30 million funding achieved by Zupee came as part of its series B funding round which was co-led by WestCap Group and Tomales Bay Capital. The valuation behind this funding was $500 million. This represented a 5x increase on the start-up’s valuation at the start of the year.
At that point, Zupee had raised funds of $10 million. This funding was led by WestCap Group and Matrix Partners India. In total, this second round of funding has achieved $49 million in total with backing from Smile Group and Orios Partners.
This successful funding and growth in valuation of Zupee is at least partly due to an environment in India that is conducive to growth in the gaming market due to the large young population which has a
high level of smartphone ownership and a good level of earnings. But it’s also due to the passion and determination of the team at Zupee.
The Zupee story so far
This relatively new online gaming platform has only been in existence for three years but has already achieved in excess of a total of 250 million gameplays. The aim of the brand is to innovate in the world of gaming by providing content that involves both skill and entertainment.
The company is grateful to its investors who have had the vision to support its purpose. The funding achieved will enable Zupee to continue on what has been a successful journey so far.
The journey will include building on a current user base of 10 million. It will also involve innovating further in order to produce a larger suite of games and attempting to expand globally.
It’s certainly an exciting time for Zupee but the start-up still faces some potential obstacles, as do other innovators in the same sector.
Challenges to overcome in the future
One of the major challenges to companies who are innovating in the skill games sector is the uncertainty of the legal landscape in the future. Although real money skill games are
not illegal in India overall, there is still resistance in some states.
There is also a lack of a central regulatory landscape which makes it difficult for companies like Zupee to operate with certainty. That being said, the Zupee team is in a good place right now with its successful series B funding round.
