Gaming Report: Nazara Technologies Reports 273% Growth in PAT, My11Circle Bags Title Sponsorship For Women’s T20 Challenge & More

In this report, we bring you the latest updates from the gaming industry.

India’s first publicly listed pure-playing gaming company, Nazara Technologies, posted strong Q4 numbers earlier this week, reporting an impressive 273% growth in profit after tax for 2021-2022.

My11Circle, the fantasy gaming arm of Games 24×7, bagged the title sponsorship for the upcoming 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge.

On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin told the state assembly that his government would be setting up a Special Investigation Team to inquire into the death by suicide of people caught in a debt trap owing to online gaming.

Nazara Reports 273% Growth in Profit After Tax For FY 21-22

The listed gaming and sports media platform, Nazara Technologies, released its audited results for the quarter and full-year ending March 2022 earlier this week. The company reported ₹50.70 Crores in profit-after-tax for 2021-2022, posting an impressive 273% YoY growth!

Sharing details in an investor presentation, the company reported revenue from real money gaming grew by 117%, whereas Telco subscriptions fell by 17%.

Speaking on the results, the CEO of Nazara Technologies, Manish Agarwal, said, “On behalf of Nazara Group, I am glad to report that we have surpassed our revenue and EBITDA guidance for FY22, despite the headwinds caused by a change in Apple policies & regulatory environment in real money gaming in India and negative impact of COVID19 in esports segment.”

According to Agarwal, the company’s strategy of diversifying its portfolio across business categories has given them a solid and robust momentum to grow faster than the overall gaming & esports market in coming years.

He added, “In FY22, we generated revenues of ₹6,217 Million, up 37% YoY, EBIDTA of ₹946 Million, up 109 % YoY, and PAT of ₹507 Million, up 273% YoY. We are glad to report that all of the group’s business sectors are profitable and have added significant cash balance in FY22.”

In January 2021, Nazara Technologies filed papers with SEBI for its long-pending IPO, and in March, it became the first pure-play Indian gaming firm to become publicly listed. The company IPO opened to strong demand and was subscribed a whopping 175.46 times.

Later in October, the company announced plans to raise ₹315 Crores through the preferential allotment of fresh equity to select institutional investors. In March this year, the company announced a partnership with Griffin Gaming partners, one of the largest gaming-focused Venture Capital (VC) funds. Nazara committed an investment of ₹30 Crores in Griffin’s second fund.

The company board also approved the issue of bonus shares in proportion to 1:1 pending approval of the company shareholders.

Commenting on this, founder and Joint MD Nitish Mittersain said, “Nazara has a 22-year credible history of delivering value to its shareholders who have put faith in the company & believed in our dream of making India a global gaming giant. As a token of our appreciation towards our shareholders’ faith in us and to celebrate the first anniversary of being a listed company, we are happy to declare a 1:1 bonus issuance of shares. Nazara’s approach of driving profitable growth provides a strong platform for continued growth.”

BCCI Awards Title Sponsorship of the Upcoming 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge to Fantasy Major My11Circle

MY11Circle, the fantasy gaming subsidiary of Games24x7, has bagged the title sponsorship for the upcoming 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge. On May 15, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that My11Circle had successfully won the bid for this year’s Women’s T20 Challenge, slated to run from May 23-28.

The Women’s T20 Challenge will host four games at the MCA Stadium in Pune. The BCCI has unveiled the 16-member squads for each team – Supernovas, Trailblazers, and Velocity.

Team Velocity had won the previous edition held in 2020. The WT20 Challenge will also see 12 international players from South Africa, England, West Indies, and Australia.

Several prominent women cricketers will participate in the series, including Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, Sophie Ecclestone, and Deandra Dottin.

Speaking on the upcoming series, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said, “Our mission is to promote and nurture the sport we love across all formats, and the Women’s T20 Challenge has always been key to that endeavor. The tournament’s continued success both on and off the field is encouraging and gives us immense confidence that we are heading in the right direction.”

The upcoming Women’s T20 Challenger might be its last edition since the BCCI is planning a full-fledged Women’s IPL from next year.

Co-founder & Co-CEO, Games24x7, Bhavin Pandya, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for sponsoring the Women’s T20 Challenge. He said, “We are very excited to be title sponsors of the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge 2022. One of the most endearing developments in the cricket world in the last few years is the growing popularity of women’s cricket. This contest, which will feature some of the finest cricketers in world cricket, will give a further fillip to the rising popularity of women’s cricket and offer immense excitement to fans and supporters of the game of cricket worldwide.”

Tamil Nadu to Form SIT to Probe Suicides Related to Online Gaming

The Tamil Nadu government plans to set up a Special Investigation Team to probe suicides by state residents caught in a debt trap due to online gambling. On Tuesday, Chief Minister MK Stalin told the State Assembly that an official of SP rank from the Crime Branch – Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) would lead the SIT.

Last August, the Madras High Court struck down Tamil Nadu’s anti-gambling law, the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act 2021. Subsequently, the MK Stalin-led state government approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s verdict in November-end. The government has filed a petition claiming that the Madras High Court decision was unconstitutional.

In January, Stalin told the State Assembly that the government was working to end all forms of real-money online gaming. According to the government, the state has reported an increase in gambling-related suicides over the past year.

During the last Assembly session in April this year, former CM EK Palaniswamy moved a call to attention motion in the State Assembly, asking the government to take measures to ban online rummy as it was “ruining” youth and their families. Palaniswamy claimed – “Some ended up borrowing hefty loans while others committed suicide due to staggering losses.”

Responding to Palaniswamy, the state Law Minister S Regupathy reiterated the government’s commitment to ban all forms of real-money online gaming. While the government’s petition challenging the Madras High Court decision is yet to be listed before the Supreme Court, an SIT team report will help the government substantiate its stance that online gaming is ruining the lives of many.