Player Perspectives: Voices from the Real-Money Games Community
India is home to over 56 crore gamers, out of which more than 25% are engaged as paying users. The unprecedented fame of real-money games is down to the popularity of three segments in particular. These are poker, rummy game and fantasy sports. The players are the obvious backbone of this industry, whose unwavering loyalty has made the Indian games market a $3.1 billion industry in FY23.
Gaming platforms and industry watchers are always keen to understand player’s perspectives when it comes to the gaming experience. Thanks to technology-driven outreach, it is now possible to gain this understanding.
Players’ Thoughts on Gaming
In traditional card games, the motivation for participation used to be to socialise with friends and fellow card game enthusiasts. Despite being played on a digital platform, often with strangers as competitors, players have pointed out that socialising with fellow gamers is a key motivation for them in online gaming.
Apart from socialising, the other two key motivations for online gamers are pastime and de-stressing. The Lumikai Gaming Report 2023 pointed out that players find online games as an excellent avenue to spend their spare time. Besides, it is a good way of relaxation and entertainment for them.
On the other hand, the report also identified the reasons for which a player is likely to drop out of a particular online game. Completion of the game’s objectives or levels is typically a key reason. Interestingly, they also stop playing when the game goes out of fashion. Many gamers have stopped playing specific online games due to excessive advertisements on the platform. The last point can be a key takeaway for real-money games platforms.
The Evolution in Gaming Behaviour
Real-money games platforms must take heart from the fact that the time spent by players on gaming platforms has increased by an average of 20% between FY22 and FY23. This could be attributed to the improvements in gaming experience and tech-enabled measures to improve the gaming infrastructure. On the other hand, the emergence of faster internet and wider smartphone penetration has encouraged players to engage more.
The Lumikai Gaming Report 2023 also probed into the gaming behaviour demonstrated by online players. 41% of gamers have admitted that they have graduated from casual games to other alternatives, including real-money gaming. 28% of the respondents have increased their gaming horizon from a single game to multiple ones. 23% of gamers who used to play free games earlier are now paying for games.
Out of the gamers who are now paying, 48% are doing so for real-money games. An almost equal portion of this population is paying for subscriptions, while 58% of gamers have paid for purchases in rummy apps or other similar game apps.
A Day in the Life of a Real-Money Gamer
Rummy players have pointed out their passion for rummy as a key driver for gaming. Similar sentiments are echoed by others playing card and fantasy gamers as well. The thrill and excitement of being a part of a skill-based gaming environment are also highly valued by gamers. It also motivates them to strive for skill improvement and perform better than yesterday, every day.
A typical rummy game enthusiast catches a game or two of rummy in between breaks in their everyday chores. It could be during a bus or metro ride, during work breaks, or when the family is enjoying a TV show. For them, their rummy app is a ticket to a quick way to de-stress in a matter of minutes.
We have previously pointed out how the real-money gaming community loves to socialise with friends over a poker or rummy game. Some players used to play offline card games with friends, but now, even if they move, they can now share their common passion for poker or rummy games through online platforms. One friend switching to a real-money gaming platform automatically leads to a few referrals getting sent to the other friends. This partly explains the exponential growth of real-money games in India.
Reality Bytes from Real-Money Games
A deep dive into the perspective of the real-money gaming community reveals their priorities and preferences in great detail. We get to know that the community is opening up to real-money games after experimenting with free gaming apps. They look at gaming as a source of relaxation, entertainment, socialising and a passing time. Many of them are also bringing in fellow gaming enthusiasts from the offline format to the online platforms through referral links. Real-money game platforms like RummyCulture are incentivising referrals, which is further expanding the community in India.
