“India is finally entering the golden era for poker,” says Baazi Games Marketing Director Varun Ganjoo

New Delhi, March 17: Buoyed with the phenomenal success of the National Poker Series 2021, Baazi Games launched the second season of the poker tournament in 2022. The tournament aims at providing a platform to the best poker players, as well as amateurs, in the country to showcase their skills and give the winners an opportunity to represent the country on a global stage in Las Vegas.

With its tournaments, PokerBaazi has succeeded in bringing the game of poker into the mainstream esports category. The platform - which has a userbase of two million-plus active users - is also changing the perception of the layman towards this card game.

In an exclusive conversation with MyKhel, Varun Ganjoo, Co-Founder & Marketing Director at Baazi Games, explained how the game of poker is catching the imagination of amateurs as well as professionals in India and the tournaments organised by Baazi Games have contributed to creating a wider userbase, which is why the esport is entering its golden era in the country.

The success story of Indian poker players is inspiring the new generation to take the sport seriously and how the homegrown National Poker Series (NPS) is busting the prevalent misconception of poker being considered a gambling sport.

MyKhel: How NPS is on a journey to expand the scope of growth for budding poker players?

Varun Ganjoo: National Poker Series India began in 2021 with an aim to promote poker as a popular game and develop a sense of pride in both amateurs and professionals who play poker. NPS is not just restricted to winning the championship but it's also about the exposure that comes along.

The top three players of NPS will have the opportunity to represent India on the global stage in Las Vegas. The NPS glory will not only instill a sense of pride but also inspire a new generation of poker players to join the poker revolution in the country.

The beauty of the series is that the tournament buy-ins start at as low as INR 200. This allows for maximum participation even in the larger tournaments of the series. The satellite tournaments in the series have buy-ins of INR 1, which has helped us reach a wider userbase and allowed new players from varied socioeconomic backgrounds to become acquainted with the game of poker.

Over 83000 participants from 20 states competed in 64 tournaments at NPS 2021 which is a testimony that we are on the right track of helping the sport of poker reach every region in the country.

MK: What are the changes you are looking forward to NPS 2022?

Varun Ganjoo: While NPS 2021 was a major success, we have taken NPS 2022 a notch higher with 252 medals to be awarded across 84 tournaments as compared to 64 tournaments last season. We have also opted for a phy-gital format for NPS 2022, the satellite tournaments which began on January 15, 2022, were all held online, and the main tournament stage will also be held online between March 6-20 on PokerBaazi.com. The final tables of three key tournaments will be held in a physical format from March 23-25, at Majestic Pride Casino in Goa.

MK: How has been the growth of PokerBaazi.com over the last seven years?

Varun Ganjoo: PokerBaazi's endurance and persistence in this growing market are defined by its growth from zero to 2 million+ users and becoming the country's leading poker gaming application. We have grown at a CAGR of 70% over the last couple of years and are all set to boost our growth as poker enters its golden age in India.

MK: What are your plans for sustaining the surge after NPS 2.0?

Varun Ganjoo: We have a host of events lined up after the culmination of NPS. One of them is the Baazi Poker Tour which will start alongside the final tables of NPS in Goa.

In terms of retaining the increased users on the platform, we are constantly creating a lot of engaging content around poker and we are going to keep on bringing technological innovations as well as tournaments to keep the interest intact.

MK: What according to you has been the key reasons for the sudden surge in Poker in India and increase in the number of professional poker players?

Varun Ganjoo: We've seen a gradual shift in people's interest in poker, which finally reflects in the user base across all online gaming platforms. India is an emerging market for online gaming and is continuously evolving and I strongly believe that India is finally entering the golden era for poker.

The last edition of NPS is proof that there has been an increased interest in the game. The numbers and the interest that we witnessed were beyond our expectations for the very first edition. Owing to such tournaments, many poker players have become known faces and have achieved both national and international glory.

Further, the industry reports have also showcased very positive trends. While the Online gaming industry is poised to grow at CAGR 22% to reach 11,880 Cr. by 2023 from 4,380 Cr, the skill-based gaming industry is showcasing a Y-O-Y growth of 35-40%, signifying the rise of a new poker economy in India.

MK: This year's campaign is titled #IndiaKhelegaPoker, what is the marketing strategy behind it?

Varun Ganjoo: With the campaign, #IndiaKhelegaPoker we aim to establish poker as an identified sport and a game of skill & mind. Card games have been popular in India since ages and this campaign is the true reflection of PokerBaazi's vision of making Poker a household game in India.