E-sports to be the next big bet
NEW DELHI : Online sporting (e-sports) events are emerging as a big revenue opportunity with growing enthusiasm for the nascent gaming sector in India, industry executives said. The country, with 42.5 crore gamers, second only to China, saw a string of e-sports events this year with substantial prize money on offer. On 27 August, e-sports firm Nodwin Gaming, a subsidiary of the only publicly-listed gaming company Nazara Technologies, concluded the second edition of its Battlegrounds India Master Series (BGMS).
The tournament set up its highest-ever prize pool of ₹2.1 crore (~$252,000), with ₹1 crore (~$120,000) earmarked for the winner. It was also broadcast live on traditional broadcasting platform, Star Sports Network, as well as on digital game-broadcasting platform, Rooter. Pune-based gaming, media and entertainment firm JetSynthesys has also seen similar numbers in its ongoing cricket-based e-sports tournament, Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL).
The tournament, which is set to conclude on 8 December, attracted more than 1.5 lakh participants, and offers a net prize pool of ₹2.51 crore (~$300,000). The tournament is also being streamed on Reliance group-owned Sports18, and digitally on JioCinema. These statistics, industry stakeholders said, show that there will be significant business opportunities for gaming firms over the next five years.
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