From the banning of PUBG Mobile to the launch of VALORANT, Indian esports have witnessed huge progress this calendar year. Having said that, the expansion of real-money gaming and fantasy platforms in the sector is a significant advance that has long gone unnoticed.

While the distinction between esports, real money games, and fantasy sports may be hazy, organizations such as the Mobile Premier League (MPL), PayTm Initial Games, and WinZO have invested extensively in fantasy sports and real-money gaming. In certain cases, these platforms have even gone through titles that are considered “mainstream esports” by the industry.

The concept of esports has long been debated. It was only recently that fantasy sports, real-money gaming, and skill-based online games were all lumped together under the umbrella word “esports,” at least in India. In 2020, MPL raised $90 million (£65 million) in a Series C round, while WinZO raised $18 million (£13 million) in a Series B round. Paytm Very First Games is also backed by Paytm, an Indian e-commerce payment company valued at around $10 billion (£7.3 billion). On these platforms, there are a lot of casual and hyper-casual games.

The fact that these businesses are diluting the name “esports” and operating in an area considerably closer to online gambling, which is illegal in India, is causing growing worry among key esports market stakeholders in India. Because of the way the platforms work, more market scrutiny may result in sanctions and issues for everyone, even those working in traditional esports. Regardless of these reservations, the financial backing that powers these platforms means that they control a significant portion of the debate about gaming and esports, particularly in the mainstream media.

GoodGamer Corp. was one of the companies that launched fantasy wagering in September. The GoodGamer Fantasy Gaming App, which offers fantasy wagering on games like Counter-Strike: World-Wide Offensive, VALORANT, and Dota 2, among others, is run by GoodGamer. The startup closed a $2.5 million (£1.99 million) seed investment round in October 2020, claiming to have around 250,000 users on its platform.

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GoodGamer’s Goal: The Rise of Fantasy Esports

“With our fantasy CS: GO, purchasers may create teams based on a variety of measures, such as kills, headshots, wins, bomb plants, and so on.” The other project we’re working on is using personal computer vision to generate scores without having to spend a dime on Hearth and VALORANT, and I believe we’re one of the first platforms to do so.” Barberosa explained.

The Canada-based organization operates in India through GoodGamer India Pvt. Ltd. He also had the idea of expanding into markets like the Philippines in the short or long term, and Barbosa was quick to tackle SEA’s current esports ecosystem. For India as well as the Philippines, the goal is to build a larger user base before jumping into a more saturated market similar to the US. With significantly higher user acquisition costs, GoodGamer wants to further improve existing models and engage consumers on its platform before entering the much broader existing market.

Barbosa said GoodGamer needs to negotiate with reputable builders with successful IP addresses to get their titles into the system, which could allow them to host real-money competitions. Barbosa reports: “Gamers can enter the free version of the video game through the Enjoy retail outlet and the much more competitive version of actual funds through our system.

The platform also identifies strategies for partnering with sponsors and organizers to organize competitive events. In India, it has partnered with independent Chennai match organizer Skye Sports to reach the local esport audience.

The effect of the PUBG Mobile ban

The chance of presidential interference is a credible problem for platforms running within the betting and real-money gaming areas. Everyone is aware of the current ban on PUBG Mobile in India, as well as the increased scrutiny on tech companies and goods around the world. However, Barbosa thinks that the earnings generated from those platforms represent a massive growth opportunity for governments, in addition to the capacity to evolve and alternate their operations, which require new policies to come into effect. His statements are sponsored through the use of various Indian platforms, raising large sums of money with the region’s best gaming system, MPL, which is now sponsoring the Indian national cricket group in a deal worth 1.2 billion INR (£12 million).

In a growing industry like India, the phrase “esports” has numerous interpretations and is typically used as a blanket term. Gaming platforms with huge investors are essential stakeholders in a zone where real-money gaming is on the rise. Most of them have substantial advertising and marketing budgets and are already known for their intensive use of techniques to create conversions. Since they run in an area quite close to online gambling, law and plan changes are approaching due to the number of consumers the platforms are capable of serving. Existing stakeholders in common esports have expressed concerns about how the term “esports” is used by many of those platforms, and they are wary of a time when the government is forced to segment it.

Despite its fantasy eSports and real-money gambling features, GoodGamer is still a fantasy cricket betting platform at its core. While the organization’s options are to include more mainstream esports titles in its fantasy offerings, it’s hard to predict what they’ll achieve. Virtual betting is currently a different concept in the Indian esports industry, and it is really difficult to estimate how the combination of these will play out. On the other hand, Indian consumers are known to adapt quickly to new systems, and GoodGamer seems to be betting on this fact. Time will tell whether it can successfully integrate these core titles while avoiding controversies among Indian esports fans.

Credit: The India Saga