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<ul><li>In our last feature from the series where we crystal-gazed into 2022 and brought to you some key trends that will impact the industry, we speak to experts from the Indian <keyword id="6357332" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">gaming</keyword> industry.</li><li>They share their thoughts of a few big trends that will dominate the industry in 2022.</li></ul>As we enter 2022, we can only look back and wonder at the meteoric rise online gaming has seen in India in the past two years. While gaming had been witnessing growth, albeit a relatively slow one, before the lockdown, it was during the locked-at-home phase that many across the country not only discovered the joys of gaming, but also realised they could make a healthy living out of it. If most reports coming out in the last one year are to be believed, India will see an even faster growth for the industry in the next few years, and now Bharat is joining in this growth. A recent report by <keyword id="7087972" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league" source="Orion">Mobile Premier League</keyword> (MPL), an <keyword id="2440542" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="esports" source="Orion">esports</keyword> and skill gaming platform revealed that India’s tier-III cities and towns have witnessed a significant rise in the number of online gamers in 2021. The top 30 of them reported up to 170% more gamers compared to 2020. Some of the small towns have more than 100% to up to 200% growth in online gamers. Another report by Sequoia India and BCG said that while the gaming industry in India is currently smaller than that of the US and China and is 1% of the global gaming market, it is generating $1.5B revenue and is expected to triple to over $5 billion by 2025 on the back of the ‘mobile first’ phenomenon. This massive growth has also led to a new breed of influencers who are being followed by hundreds of thousands of engaged audiences. YouTube’s recently released list of top Indian creators on its platform featured 5 gamers. And things are just about starting to get heated. To understand where this highly dynamic industry is headed in this next year, we reached out to a few prominent voices from the industry and this is what they had to say: Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India &amp; Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) India was a sleeping giant till Covid-19 happened, and now we have established ourselves as a market that cannot be ignored; Stakeholders like the brands, investors, authorities and so on, were just sitting on the fence and observing. But with a market of at least 450 million online gamers, the potential of video games and esports cannot be ignored. The year 2021, has been the inflection point for video games in India. While esports evolves itself into various business models, Non-fungible token (NFT) will be one big trend to watch out for in 2022. Video Games is the best use case for NFTs, customization of the skins, virtual avatars, in-game items/rewards etc. all this already exists in video games (so-called metaverse) and is now starting to be converted into NFTs. One of the key drivers for the meteoric growth of Video Games has been live streaming and esports, and such content creators and/IP holders will eventually look at converting the best of gameplays/streaks/moments into NFTs, which not only help increase monetization for content creators, video game developers etc. but also be a catalyst in terms of retention of fans and users respectively. Anirudh Pandita, Founder, <keyword id="820765" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Loco" source="Orion">Loco</keyword> Gaming has now arrived as a truly mainstream entertainment experience and has become the primary source of entertainment for India’s young generation. 2021 saw the rise of esports and game streaming, and 2022 will see this multiply. In 2021, we saw the arrival of BGMI which all Indian fans were waiting for and in 2022, we will see multiple big publishers release games for India. In 2021, we saw esports go to new heights and we will see continued growth in the sector in the next year as prize money as well as number of games will increase. Game streaming saw the entry of hundreds of thousands of new streamers and millions of viewers, and this trend should accelerate in 2022, with individual streams rivaling those of major traditional sports. Lastly, with blockchain providing interesting use cases, we expect to see interesting new use cases come out to help creators and consumers. We, at Loco, have always aimed at paving the way for gaming to go from a niche hobby to a mainstream national interest- which the year 2021 has helped realize. We are confident that with this, India will cement its place on the global gaming map in 2022. Abhishek Aggarwal, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, <keyword id="12415204" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trinity-gaming" source="Orion">Trinity Gaming</keyword> The gaming industry is progressing, taking complete advantage of the latest developments in technology, software, better internet services, gadgets, cloud technology and more. In the Indian scenario, there is an explosive growth of gamers in this booming industry with creative and engaging content being an important aspect of the system. With more games introduced and with more people joining the pool, more brands are shifting their focus on marketing their brands through these young creators who have an enormous fan following across the age group of 15-30 which is the most targeted audience in advertising terms for both endemic and non-endemic brands. Gaming content has begun to penetrate the Tier II, Tier III locations, and beyond, giving vernacular content creators a chance to grow. With Hindi &amp; Tamil being the two most popular languages in streaming in India, it will surely gain more prominence in the coming time. More people will watch game streaming. Audiences tend to admire their creators and feel more connected to them due to their high level of engagement. The future of gaming beholds a lot and a stronger and classified gaming ecosystem is on the rise. Tarun Gupta, Founder, <keyword id="10820861" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ultimate-battle" source="Orion">Ultimate Battle</keyword> Games and gaming content are highly engaging and we're seeing a huge spike in average and concurrent viewership for gaming content. The consumers are very dynamic and their attention span size has decreased noticeably in GenZ. We see short gaming video content to witness a never seen before hype in the gaming community. The mobile gaming market is expanding in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and we'll witness a rise in engagement in games, viewership, and content creation. Young gamers will play engaging games, consume fast-paced engaging content, and want to socialize with gamers often simultaneously. This will lead to more virtual world socialization among the young generation and higher consumption of gaming content. As such, 2022 will usher higher inclination by brands into the gaming industry to target the young age group of 18 to 25. With many startups and organizations focusing on gaming and esports, we'll see a spike in Esports events and team IPs being created. This will boost the gaming ecosystem in India and open multiple opportunities in careers for gamers and IT professionals. Roland Landers, CEO, <keyword id="3634002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="All-India-Gaming-Federation" source="Orion">All India Gaming Federation</keyword> The Indian gaming industry along with the M&amp;E segment has now become one of the fastest growing sectors in India with around 7.3 Bn downloads in recent years. It has emerged as an important avenue due to a multitude of favorable factors such as young and tech-savvy population, affordable availability of feature-packed smartphones, better internet connectivity, and an overall technological development. The move has also accelerated the growth of multi gaming format in the online gaming space. The Indian gaming industry is expected to reach 3 billion by 2025 and is now projected to grow faster than the global online gaming segment. The industry currently employs 40,000 people in direct jobs and by 2024 the online skill gaming industry is expected to employ around 2 lakh people. This growth will further lead to revenue generation for the country, driven by ease of payment, better security and instant withdrawal of winnings etc. As the regulatory landscape is also evolving and positive judgments are expected from many states, we as an industry leader look forward to an exciting year for this sunrise sector. With its exponential growth, the gaming industry will also attract international investors to invest in the Indian market. Sameer Barde, CEO - E Gaming Federation <div type="image" title="IMG-20220110-WA0005" msid="88826278" hostid="261"></div> Online gaming will become increasingly mainstream and find acceptance as a source of entertainment in 2022. This year, we anticipate a growth rate of over 35 % for the sector as a whole. However, for this to happen, we hope to see government stakeholders accepting the need for regulation to protect the player and industry interests. Increasing monetization and adoption of new-age technology including blockchain and NFTs in the gaming ecosystem will be seen. We expect a larger number of players moving from free-to-play to paying-to-play, in-game purchases, and skill gaming. Industry players will develop new and exciting games for users based on traditional games and Indian themes, keeping the PM’s vision in mind. Additionally, e-Sports being a medal sport in the forthcoming Asian Games in September will result in a significant increase both in terms of acceptance and interest. All in all, we at EGF are excited and believe that this will be a bellwether year for the entire industry. Bhavin Pandya, CEO and Co-Founder, <keyword id="8913431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Games24x7" source="Orion">Games24x7</keyword> The Indian online skill gaming industry is poised for tremendous growth. With the right support particularly in the form of progressive policy structures, gaming can spur a second software revolution in India. As of today, this industry offers direct employment to almost 50,000 people. It is also a major source of taxation for the exchequer. In addition, the sector has multiplier benefits for several other domains including fintech, banking, semiconductors, animation, and other aspects of Information Technology. The sector has witnessed significant investments from marquee international investors and accounts of several Unicorns. With the right encouragement and support, India can emerge as a global pioneer in gaming technology. Ankur Singh, CEO and Founder, Witzeal We believe that the gaming sector will continue to expand with the high end adoption of AI and data science to understand and provide users experiences they wish for. Future of gaming will likely be based upon newer technologies like Blockchain and its active usage would prove fruitful in the years to come. Another key trend to look forward to is the penetration of gaming in rural areas because the penetration of internet and smartphones is on a gradual rise. Yashash Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, <keyword id="3212361" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gamezop" source="Orion">Gamezop</keyword> <div type="image" title="RIC_8498" msid="88758667" hostid="261"></div> Blockchain gaming is shaping up to be a very interesting space. We are already seeing very interesting games emerge with blockchain and NFTs at the heart of all the action. Games like Axie Infinity have popularized the Play to Earn mechanic and they have been able to scale engagement as well as monetization to huge numbers. Take it one step further and we see that decentralization is fundamentally changing how companies operate: all the way from raising money, to day-to-day governance. This is most notable in DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organisations), which follow a bottom-up, community-driven management style. We are excited to see the blockchain gaming projects that emerge from India! Vaibhav Odhekar, COO &amp; Co-Founder, <keyword id="2734866" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="POKKT" source="Orion">POKKT</keyword> The gaming industry is constantly evolving, and its popularity will continue to rise. In the last three years, the sector has welcomed 500 million new gamers globally. New technological breakthroughs such as virtual reality have provided another dimension towards entertainment in this domain. For many young folks, the industry has also become a viable career option. Talking about the trends- The audience will continue to diversify in the coming years. So, instead of a male/female audience bias, we'll have a nearly 50-50 gender split, with a lot more older people joining the online gaming space. India is expected to create more global content. Although the percentage is extremely low right now, as more high-quality content is created in India, the trend will improve. Also, e-Sports as a category will grow in popularity. In 2022, there will be a significant increase in the number of movies released worldwide. So, the biggest trend we anticipate to see is a lot more games based on movie franchises. Gaming has its own history of adapting films and gamers are enthralled by such games. Video games are a vast medium that covers a wide variety of genres and experiences that can only be experienced in games, along with contributions from a population from all over the world. Even while many modern games are inspired by movies, they are nevertheless unique in their own way and we expect them to expand in the coming years.

Gaming: What to expect from the Indian gaming and e-sports industry in 2022

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> had plans of spending 40% of its marketing budget on <keyword id="6354312" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> this year.</li><li>With the suspension of the league, we speak to <keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who tells us how the brand plans to communicate with its consumers now, and what its plans to grow the business further is.</li></ul>The <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> and esports sector in India has been witnessing good growth in India, thanks to improved accessibility in technology and cheaper internet. That investors and venture capitalists are putting in monies in the sector is further proof that there is a huge opportunity. A recent report by <keyword id="274082" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maple-Capital-Advisors">Maple Capital Advisors</keyword> stated that the Indian gaming sector saw investments of around $544 million between the August 2020 and January 2021 period, a number that is expected to double over the next 12-18 months on the back of higher user awareness and accelerated engagement. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of e-gaming players enter the market. Many of these have been spending substantial amounts on advertising too. One such player, Mobile Premier League (MPL), announced in February this year that it had raised $95 million in a Series D round of funding, bringing its value to $945 million after raising. With this fresh round of funding, MPL planned to expand its eSports portfolio and bolster its efforts to organize more eSports tournaments nationally and internationally at scale. It is also looking at accelerating its international expansion this year. Last month, MPL also acquired esports gaming platform <keyword id="6231572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GamingMonk">GamingMonk</keyword> that hosts esports tournaments across multiple platforms. MPL had invested on the Indian Premier League last year and reaped impressive results, it saw the number of gamers on its platform go up 7X post IPL so this year too, the platform had launched an aggressive campaign to grab maximum eyeballs during the league. However, with the suspension of the league, how does it impact its marketing plans for the rest of the year? We spoke to Abhishek Madhavan, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who told us how the year has been so far for the platform and what more we can expect from it through the rest of the year. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?" text="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?">Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?</cmsannotation> It’s been quite a year in general. What the country is witnessing is unprecedented and right now, our focus is on trying to do our bit in helping out and ensuring that our employees and their families are safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?" text="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?">Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s lockdown due to the pandemic was a black swan event that nobody could have foreseen. Yet, it did help the gaming industry as people explored their skills by taking to gaming platforms from their homes. However, pure fantasy apps were affected due to the lack of live sporting action last year. That being said, we added over 3 crore users on MPL last year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?" text="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?">Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?</cmsannotation> We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns. However, since our business is not IPL dependent, we are looking at other conventional media channels to run our brand campaigns on, at the moment. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?" text="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?">Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?</cmsannotation> We are a gaming platform. And while the IPL definitely helps us, what we offer our users goes beyond just fantasy sports. There are over 50 games on MPL across categories like esports, casual, fantasy, etc, and once things get better for the country, you will hear from us on our campaigns. Right now, our focus is on helping the situation get better in whatever way we can. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?" text="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?">Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s IPL broke viewership records and we too benefited from our partnerships and associations with teams such as KKR and RCB. We engaged our gamers with activities such as player meet-and-greets, special contests, and giveaways. During IPL 2020, the number of fantasy gamers on MPL increased by 7 times compared to pre-IPL, and the number of daily installs of the MPL app increased by 100% compared to pre-IPL 2020. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?" text="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?">Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?</cmsannotation> We are a full-fledged gaming platform with a 365-day value proposition and we aren’t a fantasy app that is dependent on sport seasons or leagues. With our wide variety of games and features, we attract a wide range of users above the age of 18, going all the way to ages 60 and above. Gamers can find all kinds of games on our platform, along with social features to connect with the gaming community. We are also organising fortnightly esports tournaments in games such as Chess, World Cricket Championship, etc, and entry to these tournaments is absolutely free, with lakhs in prize money up for grabs. We are also live-streaming these tournaments to millions of viewers through our social media handles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?" text="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?">Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?</cmsannotation> Esports is currently on the upswing in India and across the world. We think India has an abundance of talent in esports and mobile esports is the best way forward in recognising and honing this vast talent pool. Esports being recognised by traditional sports competitions like the Asian Games is a big boost for this sector. We aim to take esports to the masses via our mobile application and are geared for the growth coming in from this sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?" text="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?">Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?</cmsannotation> The core message behind the ‘Hain Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign is that fantasy sports require skill and knowledge of the game. While we launched it along with the IPL, the campaign continues to run as the core message applies to all fantasy sports. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?" text="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?">Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?</cmsannotation> We want to be the world’s biggest esports and skill gaming platform. That is the vision we have right from the start and we feel India is poised to become a global leader in esports. We have a great number of skilled game developers who can make games for the world and we have so many gamers who are waiting for an opportunity to excel in esports. By bringing them together on our platform, we can exhibit India’s prowess to the world. Our Indonesia business is doing really well and this has encouraged us to plan to expand to other geographies as we march towards realizing our vision.

We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> will be the principal sponsor for both the Knight Riders Franchises in IPL &amp; CPL - <keyword id="6354467" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata-Knight-Riders">Kolkata Knight Riders</keyword> (KKR) and <keyword id="3240868" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trinbago-Knight-Riders">Trinbago Knight Riders</keyword> (TKR).</li><li>While CPL is scheduled to start on August 18, 2020 and conclude on September 10, 2020 in Trinidad, IPL will start on September 19, 2020 in UAE and conclude on Nov 10, 2020.</li></ul> The Knight Riders and Mobile Premier League (MPL) has announced that MPL will be the principal sponsor for both the Knight Riders Franchises in IPL &amp; CPL - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR). <keyword id="433176" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Venky-Mysore">Venky Mysore</keyword>, CEO &amp; MD, Knight Riders said, “We are very excited to partner with MPL, which is a vibrant Indian start-up company promoted and run by a group of young and innovative people, in Esports and Gaming, that is bound to grow significantly. Our partnership across KKR in IPL and TKR in CPL, will create new opportunities to socialise and activate our partnership. <keyword id="6176095" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, VP, Growth and Marketing, MPL, said, “We are excited to be the principal sponsors for Kolkata Knight Riders. The team has been a household name right from the start and have won the prestigious IPL championship twice. They have some stellar players and the team competes to win, which is what MPL is all about as well, so it is the perfect marriage that will help us take our brand to more users. With Trinbago Knight Riders, one of the strongest teams, having won the CPL Championship three times, as its sister franchise, this association will help us take MPL to the international sports arena.” CPL is scheduled to start on August 18, 2020 and conclude on September 10, 2020 in Trinidad, which will feature three-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) and five other teams. IPL is scheduled to start on September 19, 2020 in UAE and conclude on Nov 10, 2020, which will feature two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and seven other teams.

Mobile Premier League is the principal sponsor for KKR and TKR for IPL and CPL

<ul><li><keyword id="6422069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-gaming">Online gaming</keyword> is growing in India by leaps and bounds. The pandemic has given the industry a further boost.</li><li>During the past few months, many homegrown gaming platforms have seen unprecedented growth.</li><li>Founded in 2018, <keyword id="7087972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> has also witnessed a good growth, with many of its users coming from Tier II and Tier III cities.</li><li><keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, VP, Growth and Marketing, MPL tells us about the platform's journey so far and how its plans to grow its presence further.</li></ul> The online gaming industry in India is booming. Even before the pandemic hit, and people took to online games, the Indian gaming industry was growing at a healthy speed. <keyword id="906162" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-gaming">Mobile gaming</keyword> in India has been growing at a rapid rate due to development as well as smartphones becoming more affordable. According to Statista, the market value of mobile gaming in India was estimated to reach about $405 million by 2022. The number of mobile phone gamers was anticipated to be around 628 million by 2020 according to the forecast. Another report by investment bank Maple Capital Advisors titled Gaming – India Story stated that by 2024, the overall gaming industry in India is set to be valued at $3,750 million. The lockdown, while hitting most industries hard, has come as a boost for the Indian gaming industry. In the past few months, we have seen people not just take to offline games to spend time with family, a lot of them are enjoying their me-time playing different kinds of online games. Made-in-India games like Ludo King have witnessed an unprecedented growth, not just in India but even outside India. One such gaming platform that has witnessed an unprecedented growth during these last few months is Mobile Premier League (MPL). Not only is MPL sponsoring teams in leagues like IPL, it recently made news when it announced that it will be the presenting sponsor for <keyword id="8654765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bigg-boss-2020">Bigg Boss 2020</keyword>. The platform is also witnessing a huge demand from smaller cities. Currently, it has over 40 million registered users in India and around 3 million registered users in Indonesia. Having Sequoia, Go Ventures, Times Internet, RTP Global, BeeNext, Venture Highway as its investors, the startup has raised a total of $40.5 million till date. We recently caught up Abhishek Madhavan, VP, Growth and Marketing, MPL to understand the factors that have led to his growth and their plans for the future. Excerpts: Q) The lockdown has come as a blessing in disguise for the gaming industry. What kind of growth has MPL witnessed in the last few months? We witnessed 3-4x overall growth over this period. Number of games played per day for some of our popular titles like WCC increased by 400%. We also saw that new users coming onto our platform played 3-4 different games on average. Q) There has been an overall increase in people taking up gaming from smaller cities. What kind of growth have you witnessed coming in from smaller cities and what are the factors that have accelerated this growth? MPL has always had a substantial presence in Tier II and Tier III cities across the country. A lot of the growth of gaming in smaller cities can be attributed to 4G data and smartphones easily available to more people. We also foresee more growth in this regard as internet and smartphone penetration increases across the country. One of our first digital sports scholars, VS Rathanvel is from Coimbatore and he won the first Chess Mahayudhorganised by MPL in July 2019. The runner-up in the same competition was Ankit Rajpara, who is from Mehsana in Gujarat. Q) What is your revenue model right now? What kind of increase have you seen in in-app purchases in recent months? Are you witnessing people from smaller cities also spend money on gaming? MPL is a gaming platform and we charge a platform fee for paid contests/tournaments. All our games are also available for free. We have seen an increase in our users participating in paid contests and tournaments. Q) How have you been marketing your platform? We just partnered with Kolkata Knight Riders and its sister franchise in the Caribbean- Trinbago Knight Riders - as their principal sponsor. Recently, we even sponsored the Irish Men’s Cricket team for the ODI series against England. These are some of our current marquee brand marketing activities. We also command a good presence in television and digital advertisements and we ensure that the messaging is simple, honest and that it resonates with our audience. Q) Where do you think the next phase of growth for MPL will come from? We are a platform, with a variety of games and content cutting across categories. We will look to add more games from various game developers. Our live-streaming feature for audio and video has also picked up so we are excited about that as well. Q) Where does India rank when it comes to growth in online gaming? Esports has taken off in the country and we have even won a Bronze medal in the Asian Games 2018, where they had esports for the first time. We have a lot of talent in gaming and esports and with the industry becoming mainstream, we can hope to do better on the world stage. Q) What is your vision for MPL? We aim to become a one-stop shop platform for gamers and game developers. We already have 50+ games on our app and have over 15 gaming studios as our developer partners. We want to work with more and more indigenous game developers and give them a platform to showcase their games to our user base. The more the number of quality games, the more our users will have a great experience on the platform.

Mobile Premier League wants to give a boost to indigenous game developers by showcasing their games to its wide set of audience

<ul><li>As part of a three-year deal, MPL Sports designed and manufactured jerseys will be worn by Men, Women and the Under-19 Indian cricket teams. </li><li>MPL Sports will also sell licensed Team India merchandise.</li></ul>The <keyword id="81008" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Board-of-Control-for-Cricket-in-India">Board of Control for Cricket in India</keyword> (BCCI) on Saturday announced its partnership with MPL Sports, the athleisure wear and sports merchandise brand from <keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword>, as the new kit sponsor and official merchandise partner for <keyword id="9389791" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-indian-cricket-team">the Indian Cricket Team</keyword>. Under the newly-inked the strategic partnership, MPL Sports has entered into a three-year agreement from November 2020 to December 2023. MPL Sports’ association with the BCCI begins with the upcoming India’s tour of Australia, 2020-21, which will see Team India sporting the new jerseys. The senior men and women and the Under-19 teams are also a part of the deal for the new kits. Apart from Team India jerseys, MPL Sports will also sell licensed Team India merchandise. MPL Sports will offer the jerseys and its wide range of team India merchandise to fans at affordable prices. Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary, BCCI said: “The partnership leads us to a new frontier for Team India and for sports merchandising in the country. We look forward to working with a young Indian brand like MPL Sports to tap the potential that this sphere holds. This partnership aims at facilitating access to high-quality Indian cricket fan merchandise, including the coveted Indian cricket team jersey for cricket fans not just in the country but globally.” <keyword id="6359039" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sourav-ganguly">Sourav Ganguly</keyword>, President, BCCI said: “We are delighted to announce the dawn of a new era for Indian cricket with the appointment of MPL Sports as the kit sponsor for the Indian men’s and women’s national cricket team until 2023. We look forward to MPL Sports adding a new chapter to the team’s kit, and bring Official BCCI licensed merchandise within easy and convenient reach for the billion-plus fans who cheer for Team India.” Commenting on the partnership, Abhishek Madhavan, SVP, Growth and Marketing, MPL and MPL Sports, said: “India is a market with a billion cricket fans and we see a lot of potential in the underpenetrated merchandise market in India. We hope to partner closely with the BCCI and take all kinds of team India merchandise to the masses - with offline as well as online distribution at affordable prices. Associating with the Indian national cricket team is a matter of huge pride for us and we want every fan in the country to feel the same way and have access to the merchandise they can proudly flaunt.” MPL Sports offers a wide range of affordable products, from sports and athleisure wear to Cricket equipment, as well as other accessories such as masks, wrist bands, footwear and headgear, etc. The brand also plans to launch affordable high performance clothing and accessories dedicated to esports fans.

BCCI ropes in MPL Sports as Official Kit Sponsor for Team India

<ul><li>More cricket teams in India plan to join the world of crypto by launching fan tokens in the coming months.</li><li>Fan tokens give followers access to a number of membership perks, like having a say in club decisions, rewards, merchandise design and so on.</li><li>Teams within the <keyword id="6354831" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-premier-league" source="Orion">Indian Premier League</keyword> (IPL) will reportedly be launching these tokens on Polygon, a blockchain solution based out of India backed by billionaire Mark Cuban.</li></ul>After soccer clubs around the world, cricket teams in India are getting ready to take advantage of the internet’s most recent fad — fan tokens. According to a report by <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/cricket-and-crypto-polygon-based-ipl-fan-tokens-soon/articleshow/87189474.cms">Economic Times</a>, the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could see a flurry of fan tokens from teams participating in the tournament. Fan tokens are a subset of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Fans can buy these tokens with non-digital money like the rupee or the US dollar to get certain rights or advantages when it comes to their favorite club. Simply put, a fan token lets followers have a say in club decisions -- or at least some level of influence. For clubs, it’s a way to get their hands on more capital, especially after the year of the COVID-19 pandemic where ticket sales were scarce and stadiums lay empty. It is unclear what kind of perks Indian fans will get for investing in their favorite cricket club. In the world of football, fan tokens give voting rights on kit designs, celebratory music, and other minor decisions. Sources said that it’s likely that most of these tokens will be powered by the Indian <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">blockchain</a> platform, Polygon, which has been gaining popularity, not just in India, but amongst NFT platforms worldwide. According to ET’s report, the first of these fan tokens might be available as early as December this year. Polygon’s co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal, also indicated that “interesting announcements” from the Indian sports community are expected to go public soon. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Cricket NFTs are not a new thing" comment="subhead" text="Cricket NFTs are not a new thing">Cricket NFTs are not a new thing</cmsannotation> To be clear, while the speculation around <keyword id="12365683" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cricket-fan-tokens" source="Orion">cricket fan tokens</keyword> could be the industry taking advantage of the lull between the recently concluded IPL season and the upcoming World T20 Championship, they are anything but new. IPL teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings are <a href="https://www.socios.com/socios-partners/">listed as</a> partners on Socios, one of the leading platforms for sports NFTs worldwide. NFTs from cricketers have also been a burgeoning phenomenon. Collectible platform Rario <a href="https://www.techcircle.in/2021/10/18/rishabh-pant-newest-entrant-into-nft-craze-to-sell-digital-assets-on-rario">partnered with</a> Polygon back in August to launch the first cricket-focused <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite&amp;is_retargeting=false&amp;shortlink=BI&amp;c=site&amp;pid=Business%20Insider&amp;af_click_lookback=7d&amp;af_channel=Business%20Insider&amp;af_adset=article&amp;af_force_deeplink=true">NFT platform</a> in the country. Since then, blockchain platform Zebi <a href="https://www.techcircle.in/2021/09/15/cricket-foundation-launches-nft-marketplace-for-cricketing-collectables">has powered</a> Singapore-based Cricket Foundation, which was backed by cricketers VVS Laxman and Parthiv Patel. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant also signed on with Rario earlier this month. Polygon, the proposed destination for these fan tokens, is backed by billionaire and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. It provides a solution that allows <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">NFT platforms</a> to reduce transaction fees on the Ethereum network, which at times has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/ethereums-scaling-issues-strike-again-as-time-magazines-nfts-sell-for-30-times-their-price/articleshow/86490791.cms">exorbitantly high</a> when there are too many users.. Polygon has been used by many new platforms in India, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/a-new-nft-platform-by-an-iit-bombay-graduate-wants-everyone-to-be-able-to-set-up-their-own-shop-online/articleshow/84610361.cms">NFTically</a> and Wall.app, and has also been adopted by global platforms like OpenSea. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="NFTs gaining steam in India" comment="subhead" text="NFTs gaining steam in India">NFTs gaining steam in India</cmsannotation> The last two or three months have actually been great for NFT platforms in India even as the global hype around the tokens drummed down during the September lull. In August, Bollywood actor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/coindcx-onboards-amitabh-bachchan-as-brand-ambassador-to-raise-crypto-awareness/articleshow/86773400.cms">Amitabh Bachhan</a> announced that he would be minting NFTs on a platform called BeyondLife.club. Superstar <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/after-amitabh-bachchan-salman-khan-also-to-launch-his-nft-collection-with-bollycoin/articleshow/87015734.cms">Salman Khan</a> also joined the craze this month, promoting NFTs on a Bollywood-only platform called BollyCoin and short-video platform Chingari’s new crypto play. Even though regulations remain unclear, Industry experts <a href="https://www.techcircle.in/2021/09/23/from-bollywood-to-cricketers-nfts-catch-celebs-attention-in-india">have said</a> that many more celebrities are expected to join the fray, and conversations are ongoing at the moment. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/solana-is-the-bigwig-cryptocurrency-still-in-the-green-as-crypto-markets-correct/slidelist/87198481.cms">Solana is the only bigwig cryptocurrency still in the green as crypto markets correct</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/elon-musk-posts-a-raunchy-tweet-about-bitcoin-hitting-69000-and-the-crypto-community-loves-it/articleshow/87185865.cms">Elon Musk posts a raunchy tweet about bitcoin hitting $69,000 - and the crypto community loves it</a>

IPL teams are reportedly launching fan tokens, which will give followers a bigger say in club decisions

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> has reportedly signed the Indian cricket captain for ₹120 million. </li><li><keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> had earlier come on board as a brand ambassador for fantasy gaming platform Dream11. </li><li>With the World Cup and IPL around the corner, these <keyword id="7391940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-gaming">e-gaming</keyword> platforms are set to garner more users and reach. </li></ul>Indian e-sports startup Mobile Premier League has signed on <keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> as its brand ambassador for <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/gaming-startup-mpl-ropes-in-kohli-in-rs-12-crore-deal/articleshow/68262218.cms">₹120 million. </a> What makes the deal unique is that the Mobile Premier League being just 10 months into the business decided to bring on board Kohli, who is currently <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/gaming-startup-mpl-ropes-in-kohli-in-rs-12-crore-deal/articleshow/68262218.cms">India’s top</a> celebrity brand endorser. Meanwhile, former Indian men’s cricket team captain and Kohli’s friend, Mahendra Singh Dhoni endorses the fantasy gaming platform Dream11. Dhoni was signed by the startup as its brand ambassador in 2018 for an undisclosed amount. With the upcoming frenzy of not just IPL but also the World Cup, e-sports platforms are looking at raking in a lot of business, targeting more users. While users admittedly get the incentive to also make money through these platforms, that does not appear to be the important factor driving the growth of these startups. A recent study done by the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming and KPMG showed that across all age and income groups, ‘Fun and Excitement’ is the primary motivator for playing fantasy sports. “The ‘Opportunity to win money’ was seen as one of the motivators for around 30% of respondents, however, this was only the 5th most important factor for engagement,” stated the report. The Indian online gaming market has hit it off in a big way with the segment set to <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/indian-gaming-market-to-grow-to-11-bn-by-2021/article23712355.ece">grow</a> to $1.1 billion by 2021. With the cricketers battling it out in the game of endorsements, what remains to be seen is who can help the startups hit it out of the park. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-indian-brands-can-no-longer-ignore-the-countrys-women-during-ipl-matches/articleshow/68153213.cms">Brands can no longer ignore Indian women during the country's most popular sporting event</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-is-building-the-worlds-largest-cricket-stadium-bigger-than-the-one-in-melbourne/articleshow/67421201.cms">India is building the world’s largest cricket stadium–bigger than the one in Melbourne</a>

It’s Virat Kohli Vs MS Dhoni in the Indian e-gaming space

<ul><li>This fast-growing neobank has found a unique way to teach its users the importance of saving money.</li><li>The campaign is a set of presentations that air as ads, that break clutter.</li></ul>Fi, the fast-growing neobank, has launched its campaign during the <keyword id="6354831" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-premier-league" source="Orion">Indian Premier League</keyword> season but with a key twist. With disruptive thinking being at the core of startups like Fi, the brand has a whole new take on the conventional television commercial. The ad itself is focused on its target audience of upwardly mobile salaried millennials and working professionals who have been stuck at home creating presentations for their work. The campaign would be live across Hotstar, YouTube and Instagram in the duration for the latest season of the Indian Premier League. <div type="Youtube" id="8maUKB29H2g" title="Save Smart with Fi - Meet Fi Jars for the dreams of today!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8maUKB29H2g/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Commenting on the first of its kind campaign Sujith Narayanan, Cofounder and CEO, Fi said, “The IPL is a fairly high-decibel, high-energy event on TV. Brands (us included in the past) spend big money on producing and airing ads. We were looking at ways to say that Fi is a savings account that’s all about saving smart. Fi’s features help users save smart through unique and intuitive ways that users will enjoy. Our campaign sort of walks that talk, by airing the ad in the form of a presentation, a tool we’re more than familiar with by now thanks to working from home for a year and a half.” Built for the digital-first generation, Fi makes finance more accessible to users. Fi has features such as Ask Fi - a financial assistant allows users to ask questions about their spends. Like - “How much did I spend on shopping this month?” or “Show me my Goa Trip spends” Fi has a unique feature called FIT Rules, that allows users to save using condition-based rules. Like “Set aside ₹50 each time I order food online” or “Set aside ₹6 each time Virat hits a 6”. Fi’s debit card features in the campaign that comes loaded with offers and zero forex charges. Users save money in ‘Jars’ for things they want and earn up to 5.1% interest on them. Fi launched its app waitlist for early access in April 2021. Users who signed up on the waitlist got access to an instant, zero balance savings account and a debit card issued in partnership with Federal Bank and Visa.

This brand is airing ads made on PPT during IPL to convey the importance of saving money

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A new charter has been drawn up to encourage support for Muslim sportsmen and women.</li><li>Muslim athletes face unique challenges in sport, such as training and playing during Ramadan.</li><li>Incidents like <keyword id="849887" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Paul-Pogba">Paul Pogba</keyword> having beer placed in front of him at Euro 2020 highlight the need for education.</li></ul>A charter described as the "first of its kind" has been launched to ensure the faith of Muslim soccer players and other athletes is respected both on and off the field.The Muslim Athlete Charter, which was <a href="https://nujumsports.co.uk/about-us">launched by non-profit organization Nujum Sports</a>, aims to challenge organizations in the sporting world and encourage progress in supporting Muslim sportsmen and women.There are currently 250 Muslim players across the top four leagues of English football, including high profile names like Manchester United's <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/paul-pogba">Paul Pogba</a>, Chelsea's N'Golo Kante, and Liverpool duo <keyword id="735032" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mohamed-Salah">Mohamed Salah</keyword> and <keyword id="8400910" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sadio-Man">Sadio Mané</keyword>.The charter includes elements such as ensuring Muslim players have appropriate places to pray, making sure that Muslim athletes are allowed to fast without judgment or impediment during Ramadan, and informing non-Muslim players that alcohol is forbidden in Islam.Other elements of the charter include the provision of Halal food and Muslim players being allowed to attend midday prayers on Fridays.Five English <keyword id="52458" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Premier-League">Premier League</keyword> teams have already signed up to support the charter.Ebadur Rahman, founder and chief executive of Nujum <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">Sports</keyword> pointed towards France's <a href="https://www.insider.com/paul-pogba-follows-cristiano-ronaldo-removing-heineken-from-press-conference-2021-6">Pogba removing a Heineken bottle during his Euro 2020 press conference as highlighting "the need for education."</a><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57512924">He told the BBC:</a> "Having worked in sport, I am well aware of the difficulties of being able to practice my religion.In another incident in recent months which highlighted the unique challenges faced by Muslim athletes, <a href="https://www.insider.com/premier-league-match-halted-muslim-player-to-break-ramadan-fast-2021-4">a Premier League game was halted to allow Leicester City's Wesley Fofana, who is Muslim, to break his Ramadan fast.</a> "After speaking extensively to athletes and clubs, we felt it was the right time to have a Muslim athlete charter in place in the UK. We believe it is the first and only one of its kind, Rahman continued."Clubs and organizations are joining a positive movement of solidarity, equality and recognition of the contribution Muslims make at their respective clubs and teams."The announcement of the Muslim Athlete Charter comes a day after <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/euro-2021/2021/06/24/euro-2020-officials-agree-not-place-heineken-front-muslim-players/">the Daily Telegraph reported that, in light of Paul Pogba's Heineken incident</a>, UEFA plans on taking steps to ensure that its products, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, aren't placed in front of Muslim players at future Euro 2020 press conferences.

Muslim athletes are banding together to ensure their faith is respected and stop incidents like Paul Pogba's at Euro 2020 happening

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A gang of four allegedly smashed their way into the home of Ashley Cole with a sledgehammer two years ago.</li><li>The former Chelsea star was allegedly threatened with torture as the gang stole valuable items. </li></ul>The former Premier League and England defender Ashley Cole was threatened with having his fingers cut off with pliers during a violent burglary at his home, a court has heard.According to several outlets, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-61067819">including the BBC </a>and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/footballer-ashley-cole-tied-up-during-violent-robbery-and-threatened-with-having-fingers-cut-off-court-hears-12588186">Sky Sports,</a> Nottingham Crown Court was told Monday that in January 2020 a gang of four men smashed their way into the home of Cole and his partner Sharon Canu with a sledgehammer before stealing mobile phones, jewelry, and the key to a BMW.Cole, who played for both Arsenal and Chelsea during an illustrious <keyword id="11897666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="soccer" source="Orion">soccer</keyword> career, was tied up with a cable-tie and led around his house in just a pair of shorts during break-in, the court was told. Cole and Canu's two young children were also present during the home invasion.Prosecutor Michael Brady QC said Canu had hidden in a wardrobe with her son to phone the police, but was discovered by one of the assailants."The next thing Ms. Canu knew was when one of the robbers opened the wardrobe door and took the phone from her while she was talking to the police," said Brady, per Sky <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">Sports</keyword>."She then saw Mr. Cole on his knees with his hands tied behind his back."The court was then told that one of the men then threatened to torture Cole with a pair of pliers, saying: "Let's cut his fingers."Canu was also threatened with a knife after initially refusing to have her hands bound, said Brady. <div type="image" title="Kurtis Dilks, outside Nottingham Crown Court, where he is accused of being a member of a gang of violent robbers, who took part in a series of high profile burglaries" height="1333" width="2000" msid="90800478" hostid="261"></div>A total of 11 defendants are facing various charges at Nottingham Crown Court for a series of "ruthlessly executed" burglaries across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/clifton-man-allegedly-involved-robbery-6934874">reports the Nottingham Post.</a>Just one of the 11 defendants in the trial, Kurtis Dilks, is accused of taking part in the robbery of Cole's homeDilks is also alleged to have been part of a group that raided the home for the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019, and is further facing accusations of being part of a six-strong gang alleged to have stolen a tiara worn by the Duchess of Portland at the 1902 coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.The Portland Tiara was taken along with a diamond-encrusted brooch from the Welbeck Estate in November 2018, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-61067819">according to the BBC.</a>The items, which have combined value of about $4.2 million, have never been recovered.The defendants deny all charges, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/apr/11/ashley-cole-targets-gang-stole-375m-tiara-portland">per the Guardian,</a> and the trial is ongoing.

You Searched For "mobile premier league founder" and got 10 results

Gaming: What to expect from the Indian gaming and e-sports industry in 2022

Samarpita Banerjee

We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

Samarpita Banerjee

Mobile Premier League is the principal sponsor for KKR and TKR for IPL and CPL

Team BI India

Mobile Premier League wants to give a boost to indigenous game developers by showcasing their games to its wide set of audience

Samarpita Banerjee

BCCI ropes in MPL Sports as Official Kit Sponsor for Team India

BI India Partner

IPL teams are reportedly launching fan tokens, which will give followers a bigger say in club decisions

BI India Bureau

It’s Virat Kohli Vs MS Dhoni in the Indian e-gaming space

Sanchita Dash

This brand is airing ads made on PPT during IPL to convey the importance of saving money

BI India Partner

Muslim athletes are banding together to ensure their faith is respected and stop incidents like Paul Pogba's at Euro 2020 happening

Sam Cooper

A Premier League soccer legend was tied up and threatened with having his fingers cut off in a violent home invasion, court hears

Barnaby Lane

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