Significant growth of poker in India is just the tip of iceberg: Adda52 Spokesperson & CRO Krishnendu Guha

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Adda52's annual poker championship - Adda52 Champions Leaderboard (ACL) 2.0 - successfully concluded earlier this year. The second edition of the championship 'ACL 2.0' was won by a Goa-based lawyer Ram Kakkar.

Kakkar, who took home an Adda52 contract worth INR 20 lakhs, will join the existing three Adda52 game ambassadors and work on promoting poker.

After the culmination of the year-long leaderboard program, which witnessed an action-packed finale with nine players competing for the winner's title, Adda52's Chief Revenue Officer and spokesperson, Krishnendu Guha spoke to MyKhel about the growth of poker as a sport in India.

Mr Guha - a marketing leader with about two decades of experience and outstanding knowledge of complete Digital product marketing - also explained how poker is slowly but steadily changing the landscape of online gaming in India.

Mr Guha also stated poker is emerging as a popular skill-based game in the country and caught the imagination of Indians between the 25 and 45 age group.

When asked about his assessment of the Adda52 Champions Leaderboard (ACL) 2.0, Mr Guha said, "It was a year-long event and has made big progress. We started this two years back with a vision to set up a platform for upcoming poker players in India.

"It is a platform where players from all parts of the country get to showcase their skills and eventually establish themselves in the field of poker. We also wanted to ensure that they can make poker a permanent source of income so that they can build a life out of their passion."

Talking about how the platform is helping young and budding poker players to showcase their talents, Mr Guha said, "The winner will get the title of Adda52 Game Ambassador and get a contract worth Rs 20 Lakh."

While speaking about the kind of response the tournament got, Mr Guha said, "I'm really happy with the overwhelming participation we saw, even during the qualifiers, held throughout the year. All the finalists, from their respective areas, were brilliant. Now we have a new winner, and we are setting his path for the next year so that he can live his dream."

Mr Guha shared his opinion about the existing talent pool of poker players (who participated in ACL 2.0). He is satisfied with the crop of young poker players coming up in India. He, however, termed the growth 'just the tip of the iceberg'.

"See, if you asked me this question in 2015, I would have said out of 100, only two or three people know what poker is. But in 2023, out of the hundred, probably 20-25 people will know, and some might be playing it as well.

"So that's the growth we have witnessed. Yes, the category is nascent. Overall, it has still not reached the masses. As I said, this is just the tip of the iceberg. A lot of poker games are happening in India now. Today you will see many people between 25 to 45 years of age playing poker in India."

Mr Guha also claimed that what began as a weekend hobby a few years back has transformed into a more organised sport, and people are even contemplating making a full-fledged career in poker.

Mr Guha further claims, "We have seen people with steady jobs, quit their jobs to play full-time poker. And one of the biggest examples is Arun Sriram. He left his full-time job to follow his passion for poker and acing it. He is an inspiration to many budding poker players now.

"Inspired by these guys, many are coming into the fray and making their mark. They have understood it is a pretty good way to follow your dreams and pursue a good lifestyle. But you need the discipline to achieve anything big. You'll succeed if you're following poker in a disciplined fashion. So that's what we are seeing. I'm sure in the coming years will see more and more youngsters coming in and playing this game."

Asked about what sort of challenges poker faces in the year 2023, Mr Guha said, "See, the biggest challenge, I would say till last year, was the taboo, social taboo. But with the government acknowledging this, the laws being framed, and during the Union Budget, we saw the Honourable Finance Minister setting up the tax regime for online gaming.

"These are all positive signs, and I would say we are moving in the right direction as an industry. Once the rules and the guidelines are being set, which the government is working on, it should be completely like any other sport."

Asked how the response towards poker in tier-2 and tier-3 cities has been and what are Adda52's plans for such regions, Mr Guha said, "So we have seen a significant boost from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, and one of the primary reasons for that is awareness.

"Today cricket is a religion in India, everybody knows about it. But not everybody knows poker because it originated in the West. So, the awareness will take time. If I compare from 2014-15, it has grown significantly. The only way you can take any sport to the next level is when you reach the masses.

"So we have been working to penetrate in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well. When people in such pockets started playing, they found it pretty interesting. We have witnessed a massive jump in these areas. So, the response has been good from such pockets."

Drawing similarities between one's daily life skills and poker, Mr Guha said, "In poker, you don't need to be a mathematician, or huge skill sets to be an ace poker player but you should show some dedication."

Asked about his message to the young budding players who wish to build a career in poker, Mr Guha said, "So it's a very simple message, poker is just like any other sport in the country and it requires discipline and practice to master it."

"You have to give time, and patience, practice it daily, and show adherence, and discipline. Poker requires all this. When you decide to follow your passion and work towards it, only then, you can reach the top. You have to devote time like any other sport to be a champion in poker," he signed off.