Online Poker continues to gain prominence across India. While there is a huge market of poker players belonging to different demographies, millennials are the leading players of online games today across the globe. Millennials fall in the age group of the 20s to mid-30s and have grown up with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. They are “always on” and have a strong inclination for fast-paced entertainment, which naturally draws them to online gaming, including Poker.
So what is poker, and why is it booming across India? On the face of it, poker is a simple card game where players make combinations with only 5 cards to determine a winner. One hand of poker takes barely a minute online which of course appeals to millennials used to multi-tasking and jumping between things across multiple windows on their devices. Dig a little deeper, and you realise that poker is a mind game that excites young minds on the hunt for something challenging yet fun-filling. And best of all, poker allows millennials to use their skills and earn a good income while still fitting within their self-paced environment.
Online gaming / poker is part of the entertainment market
Studies reveal that younger generations relish spending on consumption – eating out, drinks and entertainment. Online gaming including poker competes with other forms of entertainment for a share of their wallet – very often they choose between playing games, going out for a movie, streaming Netflix, or watching sports.Mobile gaming has been rising in the favourite list of Millennials as the number of mobile gamers has reached 42 per cent.
According toseveral online poker gaming platforms, the number of players logging in to online poker has more than doubled in the past one year. This is a positive sign of the rapid evolution of online poker in India.
Role of online poker gaming platforms in attracting youth
In the past couple of years, various online poker websites have been incepted and are successfully providing dynamic and secured online gaming platforms to the players. Leading online Poker websites intend to portray poker as a sharp skill-based game that demands in-depth insight into human psychology, money and risk management, decision making, logical reasoning and reverse psychology. The top websites also promise a responsible gaming platform which puts players in control of how much they want to spend on gaming, and ensure transparent rules and rock-solid tech systems at all times. Online Poker is extremely safe in terms of financial transactions which appeals to most poker players. They primarily focus on delivering recreational experiences to the players who play poker to have fun and bust stress.
Another interesting aspect of these modern online gaming websites is their promotional planning. Catering to the fascination of Millennials, these websites diligently strategize their advertisement and promotions. Creative ads, exciting offers and gift bonanzas, referral points, challenging tournaments and attractive awards, all are a part of promotional campaigns that appeal the most to Millennials. Catchy jingles and poker rap anthems have also made an appearance, such as “Hustle Hai” by Mumbai-based rappers Jizzy and TS that became a hit. Also, this is the most successful way for online poker platforms to create a coherent brand image.
All around us, we can witness the increasing popularity of online pokeramongst the millennials. Online poker is also overtaking traditional games like Teen Patti – the popular card game during Diwali.
By Sudhir Kamath, CEO & Co-founder, 9 Stacks
