https://investorintel.com/markets/esports-gaming/esports-gaming-news/versus-systems-to-allow-prizing-in-india/
April 13, 2021 (Source) — Adding One of the World’s Largest Gaming, Entertainment and Media Markets Significantly Expands the Reach of Versus’ Prizing Technology
Versus Systems Inc. (“Versus” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: VS) (FRANKFURT: BMVB) today announced that it has added new functionality to its patented Dynamic Regulatory Compliance prizing engine to support uses in India, which is one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world for entertainment and gaming content and mobile phone use. Versus will be partnering with some of its existing content partners to launch in India within the next 60 days.
With a population of nearly 1.4 billion, India is the largest market in the world for film production, the third largest market for mobile phone use, and one of the fastest growing markets in the world for smart phone adoption. Combining one of the world’s largest markets with a massive user base and rapid mobile growth promises to be an excellent opportunity for the Versus prizing platform, as well as the new Versus XEO platform that allows users to win real-world prizes while watching media, sports, games, and live events on TV, PCs or mobile.
According to the advertising technology firm InMobi, 45% of India’s mobile users started playing games on their smartphones during the COVID pandemic and 84% of the committed gamers said that they game for at least an hour in a single sitting. India is among the top five mobile gaming markets in the world, accounting for about 13% of total game sessions globally.1 The country’s gaming user base crossed 365 million in March 2020.2 Its online gaming industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40% to $2.8 billion by 2022, up from $1.1 billion in 2019, as stated in a Deloitte India report published earlier this year.3
In addition to filmed entertainment and interactive gaming, India’s sports market is also large and growing. Cricket is the most popular televised sport in India4; in 2020, the Indian Premier League was watched by 405 million viewers for a total of 400 billion viewing minutes, a 23% increase over 2019, according to BARC India.5
By expanding into India, Versus will leverage its gaming and second-screen expertise to provide unique prizing solutions for brands and content partners looking to engage with this audience across multiple screens and live events.
“India is one of the most attractive markets in the world for so many reasons,” said Matthew Pierce, Versus’ CEO. “Its enormous and relatively young population, highly developed sports and entertainment markets and rapid adoption of smartphones make it an ideal market for content creators and brands that want to add prizing and interactive engagement for their audiences.”