Junglee Games Acqui-Hires Algorin TechLabs; Launches Howzat Fantasy Gaming App

To stay competitive in the tight Indian online gaming market, Nazara Technologies has been on an acquisition and investment spree, and now US-based Junglee Games has now announced the acquisition of Bengaluru-based gaming tech startup Algorin TechLabs. Junglee claims to have 20 Mn users in seven countries and targets 40-50 Mn active users by this financial year-end.

Algorin Techlabs will help Junglee strengthen its position as a skill gaming platform as well as its position in Indian market, particularly Bengaluru. Post the acquisition, the team of 20 people from Algorin TechLabs along with founders Abhishek and Vijay have joined Junglee Games to build products focused on fantasy sports and help expand presence in the Indian market.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ankush Gera, founder & CEO of Junglee Games said,

“With the two businesses coming together, we at Junglee Games are excited to look forward to the next phase of skill games and the untapped $150bn market. More importantly, we’re quite excited to have a values-aligned team joining hands with us.”

Founded in 2017 by Vijay Varma and Abhishek Bharti, Algorin TechLabs was also instrumental in introducing PlayFantasy and JustKhel, a skill-based daily fantasy sports’ platforms for serious gamers with close to real-match scoring.

Junglee Games Aims To Deepen Its Presence In Skill Gaming

According to a Deloitte report, in the past five years, the skill gaming industry has grown to an industry worth $500 Mn annually. A large part of that revenue is generated by fantasy sports.

Founded in 2012, Junglee Games which operates from San Francisco and Delhi, has currently over 20 Mn users in seven countries. While the company has doubled its revenue and headcount every year since its launch claiming a Y-O-Y growth of 80% to 100%. In FY19-20, the company aims to mark $600 Mn in entry fees on its platform. Junglee is targetting 40-50 Mn active users by the end of this financial year.

The Algorin acquisition also witnessed the development and launch of Howzat — the latest fantasy sports entrant, which has been co-developed by the Junglee Games and Algorin TechLabs teams.

Howzat allows gamers to create their own fantasy (cricket, football and kabaddi) teams from among the players playing real matches on ground. Once a virtual team is created, gamers can compete with other players to win cash and prizes.

Indian Online Gaming Industry To Add 190 Mn Users By 2021

As India’s gaming market grows and the addressable user base expands, there have been plenty of investments and acquisitions in this sector. Bengaluru-based online mobile gaming platform MPL claims to have added 27 Mn active users in the last one year.

Besides popular and relatively older gaming platforms such as Dream 11, Nazara, 99 Games, Games2Win and Zapak, recently there has been a flood of new gaming startups which has helped not only the Indian gaming market to grow but has also helped create a sense of competition offering more choices to Indian users.

While the limited internet and smartphones in India had barred the Indian gaming market to a great extent until 2012, the recent exponential rise in Indian internet users, thanks to the launch of cheap 4G plans, affordable smartphones have boosted the Indian digital gaming market too, exponentially.

According to a KPMG-Google report, the Indian online gaming industry will add 190 Mn gamers and is poised to become a $1 Bn opportunity by 2021 from the current $290 Mn. This upsurge is set to create immense opportunities in the gaming ecosystem, employment generation, entertainment, engagement and market growth.

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