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Games24x7

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Games24x7 is an Indian online gaming company[1][2] founded in 2006 by Bhavin Pandya and Trivikraman Thampy. It's headquartered in Mumbai, India.[3] The company is known for its games like RummyCircle and My11Circle.[4][5][6] The company has offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Miami, and Philadelphia.[7] As of 2022, the company was valued at $2.5 billion following a $75 million fundraising round.[8][9]

Games24x7
Company typePrivate
IndustryOnline gaming
Founded2006
FounderBhavin Pandya
Trivikraman Thampy
Headquarters
Mumbai
,
India
Area served
India
ParentPlay Games24X7

History

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Games24x7 was founded by Bhavin Pandya[10][11] and Trivikraman Thampy,[12] who met while studying economics at New York University (NYU) and shared a passion for online games.[13] In 2006, Pandya returned to India and started Games24x7 with Thampy. They began with rummy, chess, and a bunch of other games online, which quickly became popular and were offered for free.[9][14] The company partnered with HDFC to establish a payment gateway for online real-money gaming. They also advocated for the industry's legitimacy to Google and Facebook, enabling the sector to advertise on these platforms.[9][15] In 2009, the company launched RummyCircle, an online real money gaming platform for playing the traditional Indian card game rummy. It quickly gained popularity within the gaming community and attracted a considerable user base. Games24x7 started investing in free-to-play games. It launched Ultimate Teen Patti and Ultimate Rummy.[8] In December 2015, Ultimate Teen Patti became the highest-grossing Teen Patti app on the Google Play store.[9] In 2019, the founders rolled out My11Circle, a fantasy sports vertical, and roped in Sourav Ganguly as the brand ambassador.[9] The platform gained traction and became one of the top fantasy cricket brands, especially during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021. It later expanded to fantasy football, and Kabaddi on My11Circle.[16]

In 2022, the company became a unicorn after raising $75 million, reaching a valuation of $2.5 billion. Tiger Global was the first institutional investor for Games24x7 in 2011.[17]

Collaborations and sponsorships

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My11Circle

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In 2021, My11Circle named Indian international cricketer and right-arm bowler Mohammed Siraj its brand ambassador. Among My11Circle's other brand ambassadors were Saurav Ganguly, Ajinkya Rahane, VVS Laxman, and Ranveer Singh.[18] In March 2022, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad became new brand ambassadors. My11Circle also secured the title sponsorship for both Lucknow Super Giants, an IPL team, and the Women's T20 Challenge, granted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in May 2022.[13] In 2024, My11Circle was appointed as the new official Fantasy Sports Partner for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.[19][20] In March, Games24x7 onboarded Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal as new brand ambassadors for My11Circle.[21]

RummyCircle

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In 2022, Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan became the brand ambassador for RummyCircle. In 2024, the company launched the Khelo Befikar, Jeeto RummyCircle Par campaign, featuring Hrithik.[4]

Associations

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In 2017, Games24x7 and other gaming companies collaborated to establish E-Gaming Federation (formally The Online Rummy Federation),[22] a body that self-regulates the online rummy industry.[23][24][25]

Games24x7 is a part of various industry associations, including FICCI's gaming committee, Assocham, IAMAI, and the Bombay Chamber of Commerce.[26][27]

CSR

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In 2022, Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi launched Bal Mitra Mandal (BMM) in Pune, supported by Games24x7, to create a slum community and empower children and their communities to secure their rights, protect against child labor and abuse, and raise awareness on education, water, sanitation, and hygiene.[28][29]

Games24x7, in collaboration with the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF), recently published a report highlighting a concerning rise in child trafficking cases in Delhi since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The report shows a substantial 68% increase in trafficked children in Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh witnessed an alarming nearly six-fold rise. The national capital has emerged as a major hub for trafficked children, with more than one-fourth of rescued children originating from Delhi. The sectors with the highest prevalence of child labor include hotels and dhabas (15.6%), family-owned automobile or transport units (13%), and garments (11.18%).[30]

In December 2023, the company formed a partnership with the Karnataka Government to launch an online gaming accelerator initiative called GameTech Accelerate.[31]

Games24x7 Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Games24x7, was established in 2022. In January 2024, the foundation launched the Wheels of Change initiative on National Girl Child Day. As part of this initiative, the foundation distributed 1,000 bicycles in the Dharashiv district, specifically in Bhoom, Washim, and Paranda to help address transportation challenges for girl students accessing higher education in remote areas of Maharashtra.[32] In April 2024, the foundation announced its collaboration with NGOs and sports academies in six Indian cities to provide youth and athletes from underserved backgrounds the opportunity to attend a TATA IPL T20 match.[33]

Awards and recognition

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References

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  1. ^ S, Mohamed Imranullah (2023-03-10). "Mumbai-based online gaming firm moves HC against CB-CID notice". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  2. ^ Yadav, Pooja (2024-01-08). "SC Seeks Centre's Reply On Pleas Of Games24x7, Head Digital Works On GST Notice". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  3. ^ Sil, Debarghya (2022-11-07). "Games24x7 Slips Into The Red, Posts Loss Of INR 230 Cr In FY22 As Revenue Plunges". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  4. ^ a b "Storyboard18 - How Games24x7 Is Levelling Up To Leverage The Gaming Boom In India". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  5. ^ Banerjee, Prasid (2020-12-01). "Poker, rummy platforms turn to technology to tackle irresponsible gaming". mint. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  6. ^ "Tamil Nadu gambling law: Online rummy, poker firms block users from playing real money games". Moneycontrol. 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  7. ^ Laghate, Gaurav (2021-04-21). "Games24x7 eyes US expansion with casual games". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  8. ^ a b "India's Gaming Sector Is Spawning Unicorns. But The Future Is Uncertain". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Games 24x7: How Bhavin Pandya And Trivikraman Thampy Turned Wild Cards Into A Winning Hand". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  10. ^ "In India you don't have casual payer, you have casual player: Games24x7 CEO". Business Standard.
  11. ^ "Games24x7's Bhavin Pandya hopes 2024 will be a promising year for industry".
  12. ^ Mathur, Nandita (2019-04-25). "'We are a technology platform, gaming is just incidental': Pandya". mint. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  13. ^ a b Mittal, Apoorva (2022-04-27). "Gaming sector needs a regulatory structure, says Games24x7 CEO Bhavin Pandya". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  14. ^ Gupta, Soumya (29 March 2017). "Play Games24x7 Sees the Mobile Gaming Segment Grow 10x in Next 5 Years". Businessworld. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  15. ^ Saha, Soumyajit (2023-07-10). "Gamespotting: MeitY receives three applications for forming SROs". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  16. ^ "RPSG's Lucknow IPL Team ropes My11Circle as title sponsor". www.fortuneindia.com. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  17. ^ Singh, Manish (2022-03-30). "Games24x7 valued at $2.5 billion in new funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  18. ^ Khosla, Varuni (2022-01-28). "Games24X7 to push Rummy in north India to augment revenue". mint. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  19. ^ "My11Circle outbids Dream11, becomes official fantasy sports partner of IPL". www.business-standard.com.
  20. ^ Farooqui, Javed (2024-02-23). "BCCI sells four IPL sponsorship slots for Rs 1,485 crore". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  21. ^ "Games24x7 welcomes Rinku Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal to My11Circle family - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  22. ^ Yadav, Pooja (2023-12-16). "SC Refuses Interim Relief To Games 24x7 & Head Digital Works On Tax Notices". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  23. ^ "Govt notifies rules for online gaming, to appoint multiple SROs". The Economic Times. 2023-04-07. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  24. ^ "Online gaming lobby groups sign voluntary code of ethics". The Indian Express. 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  25. ^ Tripathi, Ashish. "28% GST on online gaming companies: SC transfers to itself all pleas pending in 9 HCs". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  26. ^ Mengle, Gautam S. (2017-12-08). "Online rummy operators join hands self- regulate". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  27. ^ Banerjee, Prasid (2021-09-27). "Kerala High Court strikes down proposed government ban on online rummy". mint. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  28. ^ "63 street children learn to read & write in 2-hour sessions at nine junctions". The Times of India. 2023-05-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  29. ^ "Kailash Satyarthi launches initiative to create a safe, child-friendly slum community in Pune". The Indian Express. 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  30. ^ "Child trafficking: UP, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh among top three states; Delhi sees a sharp rise in cases". CNBCTV18. 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  31. ^ "Games24x7 Partners Karnataka Govt To Launch Accelerator For Indian Gaming Startups". Inc42 Media. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  32. ^ "Games24x7 Foundation launches 'Wheels of Change' initiative; aims to empower school girls". Financialexpress. 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  33. ^ "Games24x7 Foundation includes cricketing experiences for children to its 'Wheels of Change' project". Financialexpress. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  34. ^ "Award winners - 2023". www.entrepreneurindia.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  35. ^ "LinkedIn's 2023 Top Companies List: Dream11, Games24x7 and 15 more debut as best workplaces". CNBCTV18. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  36. ^ "Finalists of 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards, supported MeiTY, NITI Aayog". Aegis Graham Bell Awards. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
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