Online rummy in India has maintained a 60% market presence in the real money games segment. It is a segment that posted a revenue of $2.4 billion in FY 2024. When it comes to revenue, the popularity of micro transactions and mid-core games, for instance, are recent developments. However, rummy has enjoyed a first-mover advantage in the country and has built its presence for the best part of the last two decades.
As millions of rummy game download continue to clock in, here is a look at the exciting roadmap the game has traversed in India.
How Rummy Has Progressed Over the Years
The total revenue of the online gaming industry in India was estimated to be around ₹44 billion in 2018, which is around $512 million. At around the same time, the online rummy market size was around $227 million. It was an impressive figure for its time, considering that online rummy was valued at a modest $58 million only three years before in 2015. Mathematically, online rummy almost quadrupled in market size during this period, i.e., 2015 to 2018.
Online rummy didn’t slow down in the years that followed. Its market size swelled by more than four times between 2019 and 2024. The 2024 figures are estimated to be more than $1.44 billion.
Revenue centres like in-app purchases are expected to grow at a CAGR of 44% between FY 2024 and 2029. Categories like mid-core and hardcore games are also expected to grow at the same rate during this period. Online rummy, on the other hand, enjoyed this type of acceleration a decade earlier.
Taking the last ten years’ progress in one glance, online rummy in India has grown from $58 million to $1.4 billion. This shows how important its role in the growth of the Indian gaming industry has been.
Behind the Massive Strides
Online rummy in India owes its massive strides to various conducive factors. The most important of these factors is, of course, the enduring popularity of rummy in Indian society. Rummy has been a favourite recreation among friends and in social gatherings for decades before rummy game downloads emerged as an option.
Online rummy gave easy gaming access to card game-loving Indians. For online rummy platforms like RummyTime, a ready customer base was waiting to lap up the opportunity to play rummy at any time and with anyone.
Rummy has always been an excuse to bond with people socially. Online platforms made this possible even among people located in distant places but with a common interest in rummy. In online rummy, social bonding and interaction are possible at the click of a button. Players now don’t need to wait for a special occasion or travel to a particular place to play rummy.
A Novel Approach
In recent years, rummy platforms have benefited from innovations in their marketing approach. Strategies like influencer marketing are seen as effective alternatives to traditional methods of marketing.
Influencers are perceived as dependable sources of information by their followers. Endorsements from these influencers can help rummy platforms to explore new market segments. Influencers generally have an in-depth understanding of their audience and can integrate their endorsements much more convincingly. Marketing professionals have noted that influencer marketing works nearly as effectively as personal recommendations and word-of-mouth publicity. They also lead to high conversion rates.
Many popular rummy platforms combine influencer marketing with celebrity endorsements to create attractive video marketing content. As the online rummy market matures to a steady growth rate, platforms will look for innovations in services and marketing to keep rummy prominent in the gaming industry.
A Success Story
Boosted by its offline popularity, rummy was one of the early birds in the Indian gaming industry’s success story. In recent years, it has mellowed down to a more stable growth rate. However, its strong foundation in India’s cultural fabric helps it deliver consistent performance for the industry. In the future, branding and service innovations should continue to attract new players to the world of online rummy.
