Online gaming platform WinZO has amibitions to list on the stock market, its Co-Founder Saumya Singh Rathore told FE on Friday on the sidelines of Startup Mahakumbh. Howoever, she added that the company is awaiting regulatory clarity for the sector. This includes clear distinction between online gaming and gambling, and naming the ministry responsible to oversee the sector. “The ministry would drive how to differentiate gaming from gambling,” she said.
Rathore added that with right policy support, the gaming sector in the country has a potential to see IPOs worth $26-30 billion. The sector may add 5 Decacorns – company valued over $10 billion and 10 Unicorns – company valued over $1 billion.
The comments come at a time when Dream Sports, the parent firm of fantasy sports major Dream11, has shifted its domicile from Delaware, United States to India. According to people in the know, it is also looking to go public soon.
“These IPOs would bring in liquidity and release the money for top investors who have put in their money in these companies,” she said. WinZO has backing from the likes of Kalaari Capital, Courtside Ventures. Rathore said that currently, India is at a very ripe stage for gaming era.
WinZo has around 40 million monthly users and around 100 games on its platform. Before the GST hike on online gaming from 18% to 28% in 2023, WinZO was growing at the rate of around 200% every year. However, now its growth has slowed down to around 25% year-on-year.
To tackle this, it has expanded into Brazil. Now, it is planning to enter newer markets in Europe. Moreover, the company is also looking to acquire global companies to get a headstart.
“We are also looking for titles we can acquire, which will give us some boost on not just global platform but bring meaningful content to India,” she said.
WinZO had last year approached the Competition Commission of India against Google for alleged unfair business practices with respect to listing of real money gaming apps on Play Store. The CCI, in November, issued a detailed investigation into the tech giant. Rathore said that the agency is likely to meet other gaming firms to understand the issue soon.