It has been revealed that one of the largest online gambling groups, Flutter Entertainment, which owns PaddyPower and Betfair, in addition to Poker Stars and US fantasy sports company, Fan Duel, has completed the acquisition of Junglee Games as they prepare to enter the Indian online gambling market.

Essentially, this is represented as a majority takeover of the company, with Flutter now owning 50.06 percent of Junglee Games, which is a premier online real money gaming company in India. The value of the deal amounted to £48 million.

Junglee Games are best known for their Rummy product which is regarded as their flagship and has soared in popularity. Founded in 2012 and based in San Francisco, the company claims to have 50 million users on its site and is reported to be one of the top three online rummy sites in the Indian market.

This is a move that has prompted a certain amount of noise in the industry, as many on the inside observe with interest. A representative from NeueCasinos was particularly insightful about the deal stating: “It really is an interesting move by what is one of the biggest names in the online gambling industry.

“The fact that the owners of three of the most reputable online gambling brands in the industry have got involved has almost made others sit up and take notice, indicating that there clearly must be potential.

“When a name like Flutter gets involved in something like this, it is almost comparable to someone like Elon Musk giving their seal of approval to a venture. There is obviously value there.”

Why is this significant?

Already, Flutter Entertainment is a major player in the industry, so they must have seen something in Junglee Games that others haven’t. It is almost something that has come from left-field, though the Indian market is certainly one which represents great growth potential in the online gambling industry, pending further regulatory approval.

The value that a company like Flutter can add to Junglee, with its already very impressive userbase signifies that it has identified areas in the business where it can add substantial value, especially with regards to marketing.

It also provides Flutter with the perfect platform to enter the Indian market ahead of its competitors where the possibilities could inevitably be endless, especially when you factor in the size of the country’s population and significant improvement in WiFi and mobile technology over the last year.

What will be interesting to see is what amount of Flutter’s existing resources will be committed to this acquisition, especially in terms of expertise. It could well be that roles at senior management level are created, which could see key stakeholders from one of their brands be offered the chance to move across.

Over the last two years, Junglee has raised $3.5 million in funding rounds, which means that it clearly has investor approval from a product perspective, while it has also recently launched its own daily fantasy sports product; a niche that Flutter knows considerably well.

In addition, Junglee also has a particularly strong mobile platform; something that Flutter has a lot of expertise in. The mobile Indian gaming market had 326 million users in 2020 and this is something that Flutter can certainly help Junglee to corner the market in.