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In conversation with Mitesh Gangar, Director and Co-Founder, PlayerzPot

In conversation with Mitesh Gangar, Director and Co-Founder, PlayerzPot

Launched in 2015 by Yogesh Doiphode and Mitesh Gangar, PlayerzPot is a fast-growing fantasy sports arena which blends the excitement and thrill of real-world sports with fantasy gaming. PlayerzPot today offers users the liberty of choosing their own league, players, and lucky pot.

To understand the current state of the mobile gaming segment in India, the journey of Playerzpot and some exciting features the platform is planning to launch, The Gaming Reporter reached out to Mitesh Gangar is Director and Co-Founder at PlayerzPot.

The Gaming Reporter – Incorporated in 2015 with a vision to become a one-point gaming destination, Playerzpot today boasts a whopping 1 Cr+ users across the country. How has Playerzpot journey been so far and what makes it unique from other gaming platforms?

Mitesh Gangar – In 2015, PlayerzPot was started from a small garage in Airoli, Navi Mumbai with a vision to build a one-point destination for all online game lovers. India is a cricket-friendly nation and we felt that daily fantasy sports were the best fit to provide Indians with daily entertainment. We observed a gap between reality and how sports fantasy is perceived or played in India. Citing this gap, PlayerzPot was born.

The first version of PlayerzPot was web-based and launched in April 2016. We referred to our friends and relatives and received strong feedback for turning it into a mobile-friendly website, which we launched by the end of 2016 and our first android app in April 2018. Due to unexpected traffic, the system failed to support users on the first day of IPL 2018.

Taking these challenges in our stride, we course-corrected our strategies with a user-first approach and introduced unique features such as ‘Refer & Earn’, ‘instant withdrawals’, and private game. This eventually built credibility and profitability in the first year. As a result, in 6 years, we have surpassed a 10 million user base and continue to innovate in order to fill missing spots and let users experience-rich fantasy sports online.

The Gaming Reporter – The user experiences of games on mobile phones have developed significantly. What are some major disruptions you have witnessed in the mobile gaming segment over the years?

Mitesh Gangar – The experience of users with online gaming platforms has indeed developed significantly due to the increasing smartphone usage and affordable data. This has helped the gaming industry grow globally as an online gaming community.
With more users joining the mobile gaming segment, a huge chunk of the passive audience has turned into active players who use their sports insights to strategies and compete with players across the globe, thus expanding the community and earning an income along the way. This trait evolved during the national lockdown when everyone was spending more time online for entertainment. We have also launched casual games such as Ludo and Snakes & Ladders, Rummy, and Poker to recall childhood memories with the flexibility of playing ‘anytime, anywhere.’

The Gaming Reporter – Playerzpot recently launched its IPL campaign #CricketKaBhoot to show the obsession of people with cricket. Please shed light on how effectively the campaign performed and how did it enable Playerzpot to maximize its engagement among cricket lovers?

Mitesh Gangar – We recently launched campaign #CricketkaBhoot for IPL Season 15 which enhanced user experiences in the fantasy cricket community exponentially. We featured brand ambassador Bhuvneshwar Kumar and popular comedian-actor Kiku Sharda. The campaign witnessed an outstanding 50% increase in registrations, as well as 30% of its users, make a return to the platform.

The Gaming Reporter – Playerzpot holds a wide range of fantasy and casual games for its users. What exciting features PlayerzPot is planning to introduce to become a go-to gaming platform for gaming enthusiasts?

Mitesh Gangar – In the coming months, we are planning to launch more casual games and card games on our platform. The introduction of Metaverse has created a big scope, we have incorporated this in our future plan and are exploring this in our technology road map to create USPs in the virtual industry. Also, we have started working on NFTs as part of the gamification. These features will soon be available for our PlayerzPot users.

The Gaming Reporter – Players always confuse fantasy games with gambling and often hold themselves back from such games due to the involvement of risk. What steps fantasy gaming platforms are taking to ensure the financial safety of gamers?

Mitesh Gangar – The fundamental difference between legal and illegal online games is whether the game is based on chance or skill of the user. Fantasy gaming is totally skill-based and thus, adheres to protocols as compared with gambling. KYC plays an important role to identify the real players and further it helps to avoid possible data theft and prevent other crimes from being committed, such as tax fraud and money evasion. As a responsible gaming platform, we take care of every aspect of the financial safety of the gamers. Our app and digital infrastructure are secured and tested on a timely basis. We have partnered with top-of-the-line, secure payment getaways to avoid fraudulent activities. OTP verification is mandatory for any transaction on PlayerzPot.

The Gaming Reporter – Every now and then, players observe new gaming formats. What new gaming formats are you expecting in the online gaming industry and how do you think they will benefit PlayerzPot’s users?

Mitesh GangarThe gaming industry is always evolving. We are keeping an eye on the new technologies and accordingly are providing better gaming experiences. We believe that the adoption of AI and VR will increase, thus making the gaming experience much more immersive. We will also see stronger community building through tournament modes, which is also in PlayerzPot’s timeline.

India is scheduled to have a mobile-first gaming community. The country is already clocking in a staggering $1.5 Bn revenue after the USA and China and is scheduled to hike the revenue to $5 bn by 2025. Therefore, PlayerzPot will allocate its talents specifically to aid the rising community of mobile gamers with brilliant user experience and versatile gaming formats.

Read Also : IN CONVERSATION WITH SAGAR NAIR, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, QLAN

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