Is Online Poker A New Big Thing For The Millennials in India?

Gone are the days when people used to consider poker as gambling. Today, it is regarded as the game of skill and is quite popular among the card game enthusiasts all across the globe.

In India, the online transformation of poker has invited bigger business groups and convinced them to invest in evolving online poker platforms. The verdict of the Supreme Court stating that poker is a game of skill and not gambling has further given confidence to investors to invest their money in the Indian poker startups.

A big credit for this intensifying growth in the online poker industry should also be given to the gaming enthusiasts who have taken this game beyond the misconceptions of gambling and have staged it as a game of skill. Youngsters have played a big role in bringing this boom in the card game industry.

Kunal Patni, a guy who left his job to be a professional poker player, stands as the icon for the youngsters who wish to become a professional poker player. He has motivated the poker enthusiasts to break the stereotypes.

Kunal is today regarded as one of the best poker players in India and he was also the runner up in the World Poker Tournament, sweeping a huge sum of 96,000 euros (Rs. 75 lakhs approx.). Guys like him have set an example on how to utilize the skills rightly and master the game of poker.

Both for businesses as well as for players, numerous online poker software options are available on the internet. While businesses are utilizing such poker software choices to set up their poker businesses, the gaming lovers are utilizing the poker platforms, driven by such poker software, to make money online.

The five popular poker platforms such as Pokerstars, Adda52, Spartan Poker, 9stacks, and Pokerbaazi serve around 70 percent of the poker players in the country. And a majority of players playing on these platforms are millennials. Sources reveal that more than 50 lakh domestic players have signed up on the real money poker platforms in the past few months. It was the millennials who outnumbered in these sign-ups.

There is no doubt that online gaming’s increasing popularity has given an easy way for millennials to invest some time and earn real money through games like poker. Moreover, the ease of internet access along with the convenience of playing high definition games on smartphones are the key reasons why millennials are getting more engaged in playing games like poker.

It is very likely that in the coming seven to ten years, the Indian poker industry will skyrocket.

Here’re some reasons which further clarify why online poker will be the next big thing for millennials:

• The average age in India is 29 years. This means, that in a country like India where more than 50% of its population is less than 25 years and 65% of the population is less than 35, the e-sports trend will be on boom in the years to come. Fascinated by money, the Indian youth is very likely to play e-games like poker where the possibility of earning is very high.

• On the legal front too, online poker has its own advantage. As mentioned earlier, the Supreme court in India considers it a game of skill. In states like West Bengal, Karnataka, and Nagaland, it is legal to play poker, however, in Assam and Odisha, playing poker is not legal. Although, this legality part varies from state to state, but it is expected that very soon, the scenario will change.

• The participation of venture firms is another big reason why there is a growth in the number of poker startups in India. Venture capitalists and angel investors are now looking forward to investing in poker startups to grow their money.

• Many celebrities and stars are also now part of the poker industry which again brings the entire industry in the limelight, thus creating more opportunities for both the business owners as well as the players. A popular example is “Poker Raj”, launched by Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra.

• The introduction of JIO in India has brought a new target audience for online poker businesses. It is very likely that with improved internet speed and an increasing number of internet users, the more potential audiences will keep on adding to the poker platforms.