Even the most occasional gamers in India must have noticed the rise of online card games in India. To put it in numbers, the rummy game alone accounted for a gross gaming revenue of ₹16,000 crore in 2024. Almost every card game enthusiast in India has a poker or rummy app installed on their smartphone. This is hardly surprising, as card game apps downloaded in India are estimated to be more than 260 million!
The popularity of card games is age-old in India. In the online format, poker and the rummy app have emerged largely during the last two decades. Having said that, phenomenal progress was made during the last decade.
Online Card Games: Current Status
In 2024, fantasy sports took a nosedive, which saw their revenue fall from ₹11,000 crores in 2023 to ₹8,800 crores in 2024. This degrowth hurt the overall performance of real money gaming revenue during the year.
However, card games faced no such discomfort during the year. Rummy game revenue increased by 6% during 2024, improving from the ₹15,000 crores in 2023. Poker also delivered an improved performance in 2024, rising to ₹2,100 crores from ₹1,800 crores in 2023.
Growth Observations in Online Card Games
Non-real money games like casual, hyper-casual, action-adventure, etc., have traditionally attracted a larger number of players in India. Non-real money games have been instrumental in the growth of gaming culture in India. However, when it comes to attracting the highest-paying users, real money games take the cake.
Fantasy sports, rummy, and poker account for almost the entirety of real money game revenue in India. Poker has been a late entrant in the card-playing traditions in the country, which is reflected in its low penetration of around 10%. With its decadal popularity, rummy dominates the scene with almost 60% market presence within the real money games segment.
Interestingly, poker has enjoyed the highest user retention rate in India, and its users are among the highest average spenders in the country. Poker’s low current penetration also means it has a high potential for growth in the coming years. Not more than 4 years ago, experts had predicted that fantasy sports would grow to command more than 40% market share in the real money games segment. However, its 2024 figures can certainly be seen as a setback.
Within the online card game segment in India, single-game platforms like RummyPrime account for around 90% of the market share.
Triggers of The Evolution
Many online card game platforms were already operational 10 to 15 years ago. Unlike story and character-based games, the basic format of card games is always the same. Rummy has been an offline favourite for decades, while poker came to India with a resounding overseas legacy. Online card games dipped into a ready market that was already familiar with the rules, formats and strategies of these games.
A few key developments aided the evolution of online card games in India. The demonetisation event of 2016 was instrumental in raising awareness about digital payments. Digital transactions in India increased from ₹2,071 crores in FY18 to ₹13,462 crores in FY23. Modes like mobile wallets and UPI became popular, which later eased the transactional side of real money games, like online rummy and poker.
The pandemic was another event that elevated the popularity of online card games, and all online games for that matter. Smartphone penetration and internet usage in India both increased sharply during the decade. There were 886 million internet users in India in 2024, which was an annual increase of 8%.
Adopting New Technologies
In the last 10 years, online card game platforms in India have started using cutting-edge technology to deliver world-class gaming experiences to users. Developers have started using the latest versions of frameworks and tools to build the perfect technology stack for online card game platforms. Tools like Node.js for the backend, React.js for the front end and MongoDB for the database form the backbone of these scalable and high-performing online card game platforms.
These apps have evolved into more secure card gaming platforms using stringent security features. Transactions in these platforms are PCI DSS compliant, assuring users of the safety of funds. SSL encryption, firewall protection and regular security audits are standard features in most leading Indian card game apps these days.
Concluding Thoughts
Situational factors like digital adoption, smartphone penetration and internet availability have largely fuelled the fast-paced evolution of card games in India. However, these apps have taken the cue from global studios and adopted state-of-the-art tech features to deliver a reliable and seamless gaming experience. The current rates of growth indicate that this evolution is still underway, and card games in India are bound to expand further.
*** Disclaimer: These games involve an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk.
