How millennials are tapping Online Gaming to earn extra cash

The gaming sector in India is at the cusp of a revolution with the introduction of online games.

Google-KPMG report’s forecast of there being more than 678 million gamers in the country and the industry growing at 20 per cent to reach $1 billion by 2021, from the current $360 million, is a testament to the increasing engagement by aficionados across age brackets. As a subset in the gamut of online gaming, Poker ranks fifth in the list. Following a landmark success in the UK, US, and other European nations, poker is also escalating in the country. There are 5 million online poker players who have recently signed in on various poker platforms such as 9Stacks, Pocket52, PokerDangal, Adda52Rummy, leading to 70 per cent increase in daily traffic.

Today, millennials are spending hours on practicing and becoming a pro to turn their engagement into a source of earning extra, with many even becoming professional players and winning laurels globally. The increasing interest has inspired many to invest in the sector and led to the onset of several tournaments.

Adgully brings the opinions of some leading online poker gaming platforms that are redesigning the next-generation gameplay, with youngsters opting for it as a full time profession. 

1)    9Stacks 

According to Sudhir Kamath, Founder & CEO, 9Stacks, “Young professionals are increasingly discovering that online gaming can be a great side income. Instead of only consuming entertainment in their free time, they now have a variety of choices that can actually combine as well as income generation.” For instance, 9stacks.com offers more than Rs 10,000 every day as prizes in free entry poker tournaments, all without needing to deposit any money. And once players have improved their poker skills by playing free tournaments, they can also start venturing to higher-value tournaments. 

“Poker is the most lucrative option, but it is not the only one - players are also earning side incomes from online rummy, online fantasy sports and online casual gaming through a variety of platforms,” Kamath added. 

2)    Adda52Rummy 

Ashish Bhakuni, Head of Marketing, Adda52Rummy, agreed that online rummy offers one plenty of opportunities to win cash, exotic prizes, and it is open to everyone above 18 years. “The best thing about it which attracts millennials is that you can win cash without any investment, unlike other Internet businesses,” Bhakuni said, adding that there are, however certain factors that need to be taken into consideration:

1) You need to an excellent rummy player, preferably a professional one. If your skillset is mediocre, then you may win fewer games and lesser cash. However, if you are good at it, keep joining tournaments as they have grand cash prizes. This way you get an opportunity to win more in less time.

2) You need to invest time to play every day. The more you play, the more you get better at it and the better are your chances to earn. 

3)    PokerDangal 

“Millennials are mostly known for being unpredictable in their fashion, food and lifestyle choices. But when it comes to gaming, millennials from every corner seem to be of one accord. They love it! Especially real-money gaming than any other forms of games,” observed Varun Mahna, CEO & Founder, PokerDangal.

This is not just for fun, but to make more money by earning passively. “Creating streams of passive income is always a smart way to make your money work for you. We have players playing on our platform who are on an average in the 18-35 age group. Besides, we have also seen a major increase in the number of female players. Online gaming is actually helping people to enjoy a combination of entertainment and money,” Mahna added. 

4)    Pocket52

“Fast food. Fast fashion. Fast cash. That’s how millennials like to live in the 21st century. And, when it comes to fast cash, they look to online gaming, which is a great source of side income for millennials everywhere,” noted Nitesh Salve, Founder & CEO, Pocket52. He credits the exponential increase in online gaming to the growing popularity of smartphones and the Internet boom.

Today, millennials earn a whole lot of money by playing real money online games like poker, rummy, etc. Salve informed, “One of the surest ways to make some quick cash in poker is freeroll tournaments, which are promotional tournaments that sites use to attract players to their platform. Freerolls are real tournaments that cost nothing to enter; the only prerequisite is to create a player account, with cash or prizes provided by the site. Players can win real prizes with zero risk and zero financial outlay.”