Diwali causes spike in Indian gambling and windfall for operators

Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is this Saturday, November 14. Gambling is a huge part of the holiday, and with the state trying to crack down on unlicensed gambling, lots of Indians will be going online to get their gambling fix.

Baazi Games, Stickpool and Pocket 52 look like they will be doing big business over the holiday weekend. “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to stay at home and rethink their lives and has thereby affected the way they choose to entertain themselves,” Baazi Games CEO Navkiran Singh told Financial Express. “This has just accelerated the growth we were already projecting for the industry. We expect and encourage people to maintain social distancing norms and enjoy gaming online this festive season.”

Although poker is the main product of Pocket52, they make sure to target those who want to keep their Diwali routines going. “Apart from a regular poker player, some occasional and recreational poker players come and play during Diwali,” said Pocket52 CEO and founder Nitesh Salvi. “We have Diwali Freerolls with guaranteed real cash prize pools worth Rs 3 lakh up for action this Diwali.”

Stickpool is seeing a huge increase in its user base ahead of Diwali, and Pocket52 expects as much as a 45% increase in its own user base. “People want to experience the game of poker around this time and therefore the engagement and average time spent per user has also gone up from regular days,” said Stickpool co-founder Vivek Singh.