British and Irish iGaming behemoth Flutter Entertainment has reportedly expanded into India’s growing online rummy market by purchasing a 50.1% stake in local innovator Junglee Games.
According to a report from the online news domain at CardsChat.com, the agreement cost the London-listed operator some $66.2 million and means that it now has a foothold in a sector that was worth approximately $335 million in 2019. The source detailed that the deal also includes a performance-related provision that could lead to an outright takeover by the end of 2025 when the game is expected to regularly book annual aggregated domestic receipts of over $1.4 billion.
Gaming goliath:
Previously known as Paddy Power Betfair until undergoing a May of 2019 rebranding,?Flutter Entertainment is already responsible for a slew of online gambling domains including Betfair.com, PaddyPower.com and Adjarabet.com. The company additionally took over The Stars Group Incorporated last year to give it control over the site at PokerStars.com before paying around $4.2 billion in December so as to up its stake in American sportsbetting and daily fantasy sports giant FanDuel Group to beyond 98%.
Legal loophole:
Although online casino gaming is illegal in virtually every one of India’s 36 states, some of these jurisdictions reportedly rather confusingly define poker and rummy as games of skill father than chance. This purportedly means that these pastimes have an advantage over other pursuits such as blackjack in that they can be legally enjoyed using a computer or mobile device.
Expected debut:
Junglee Games reportedly runs the third-largest online rummy platform in India and recently expanded its portfolio via the premiere of a daily fantasy sports service. Flutter Entertainment will now purportedly seek to build on this popularity by potentially launching a new India-facing online poker domain to sit alongside the locally-licensed service The Stars Group Incorporated debuted in partnership with Asian gaming operator Sugal and Damani Enterprises Limited in 2018.
Eye-watering prospect:
Peter Jackson serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Flutter Entertainment and he reportedly declared that the new alliance with Junglee Games will enable his firm to leverage its ‘capabilities in this area’ to potentially begin generating annual gross revenues from India in the region of $70 million. This would purportedly come courtesy of the local operator’s trio of online rummy sites that currently offer games such as Junglee Rummy and the poker-inspired Junglee Teenpatti to an enthusiastic pool of over 50 million players.
Jackson reportedly stated…
“The group sees good potential to further develop Junglee Games’ product offering.”