Paytm gets Sachin to bat for game app – Times of India

TNN
Bengaluru: Ahead of IPL, Paytm’s gaming unit Paytm First Games, the joint venture between Paytm and Alibaba’s AG Tech, has roped in former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador.
It will also spend Rs 300 crore on marketing, 50% of which will be spent during the T20 league starting on Saturday, as it aims to reach a total of 100 million users during the highly followed cricketing event. Paytm First Games has about 80 million registered users. Paytm’s gaming unit roping in Tendulkar comes at a time when mobile-based games are seeing higher usage among consumers amid the pandemic. Paytm First Games had 5-6 million monthly active users in December last year, a number that has grown to 20-25 million now, according to company COO Sudhanshu Gupta. Other firms in the space also have a line-up of cricketers as brand ambassadors.
Dream11, one of the leading fantasy gaming platforms, has former and current Indian cricketers like M S Dhoni and Rohit Sharma representing the company, while Sourav Ganguly is a brand ambassador for My 11 Circle. Banking on cricket’s popularity, fantasy gaming platforms are betting big on IPL amid the pandemic. Dream11 also closed a $225-million financing on Monday and it’s also the title sponsor for IPL this year.
A recent report by startup think tank IndiaTech said 80% of users of fantasy gaming in India play for free, while the rest opt for pay-to-play format. “With Sachin as a brand ambassador, we wish to inspire mobile gaming enthusiasts to experience fantasy sports, which are about tactics, strategic planning and research,” added Gupta.