Mumbai: LivePools, one of India’s fastest-growing skill-based fantasy sports platforms, announced that i3 Interactive inc.a leading global online and mobile gaming platform has entered into an agreement to acquire 51% of stake in LivePools. This investment will further help accelerate LivePools commitment to grow and provide a holistic experience to its consumer in the current fantasy sports market in India.
Established in 2018 by the Assomull brothers, Vickram and Gaurav, LivePools in the past two years has grown to 1.5 million registered users on the back of a solid fantasy gaming product driven by marquee sporting events such as as the ICC Cricket World Cup, IPL 2019, and the Ashes. Entering into a sports heavy year of 2021, LivePools aims to leverage these sporting events combined with extensive investment in product improvements and increased prize pools providing unparalleled value to its customers as it plans to extend its reach to over 10 million users by 2022. With industry-leading prize pools, events, and other exciting offerings tied to the jammed-packed sporting calendar for IPL, India’s T20 Internationals, and the Big Bash, along with Kabaddi and football, including the Indian Super League, LivePools is confident it will exceed its ambitious targets..
According to the federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and KPMG, gross revenues of online fantasy sports operators stood at ₹2,400 crores in FY20 compared to ₹920 crores in FY19, up almost three times year-on-year. The market for Fantasy Sports in India has been on a phenomenal growth trajectory for years now. With rapid internet penetration and adoption on a scale unseen previously there are hundreds of millions of potential customers moving online looking for esports entertainment.
Speaking on the development, the Assomull brothers, Vickram and Gaurav, founders of LivePools, said, “The changing face of the Indian economy indicates favorable conditions for the rapid expansion of the fantasy gaming sector. We personally think that we have just scratched the surface and we are at the cusp of unlocking newer avenues to expand our presence in the skill-based fantasy sports sector. We are excited to welcome i3 Interactive inc. onboard to help strengthen our position in the Indian market through their deep knowledge of engaging and interacting with sports fans worldwide. Providing good returns to our investors is our top priority to ensure that we further reinforce their trust in LivePools, and we have charted a clear growth strategy to achieve that in the next few years.”
Commenting on this investment management from i3 Interactive inc. said,“With India being one of the largest and fastest-growing online gaming markets in the world, we are very excited to partner with LivePools. When looking for an investment our first priorities are the team and the technology. We found both in spades with Gaurav and Vickram and the product they have built with LivePools. With a first-class team and an exciting product, we are planning on doubling down investment on to ensure our customers have the premier fantasy gaming experience India has to offer. Through this acquisition i3 continues with its vision to build the best in market product suite in India, following on from its launch of BLITZPOKER mid last year. Our goal is to create, a premium ecosystem for players to maximize their enjoyment across a variety of online skill-based games. We could not be more optimistic about this partnership.”
With the investment byi3 Interactive inc. LivePools will continue to increase its engagement and consumer count in the country. It will further roll out additional product offerings and update newer elements in the app and desktop website for better consumer interaction and a smooth user experience.
