Games24x7 raises $75 Mn to enter unicorn club

Multi gaming platform Games24x7 has raised $75 million, the company announced on Wednesday. The firm develops RummyCircle, a hugely popular game that has over 30 million players, according to its website. 

This round was led by Malabar Investment, and included participation by existing investors like Tiger Global and Raine Group. Tiger had earlier invested in the company in 2011 and 2012 and Raine did their first round of investment in 2019.

The company has raised the fresh funds at a valuation of $2.5 billion valuation, becoming the 14th unicorn in 2022.

While a large portion of Games 24x7’s operations centre around RummyCircle, it also maintains a casual gaming portfolio. It also runs My11Circle, a fantasy sports website. 

While rummy and fantasy sports services like the ones run by the firm involve wagering real money for uncertain prizes, Indian law doesn’t technically view these activities as gambling, with courts repeatedly ruling that games involve an element of skill by players cannot be treated as such by law. (Games 24x7’s announcement uses the term “skill gaming”.)

Games 24x7 says it has an aggregate of 100 million users across its platform. Its platforms are part of the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports and The E-Gaming Federation, both being self-regulatory bodies which have argued for looser regulations on the thriving online gambling space. 

Games24x7 has become the third unicorn and second most valued startup in this space. Dream11’s parent Dream Capital had raised its last round at $8 billion whereas Mobile premier League was valued at $2.3 billion in April this year.