Baazi Games—which runs skill-based real money gaming platforms PokerBaazi, SportsBaazi, and CardBaazi—saw its scale jump nearly five-fold between FY21 and FY23.
With this, the company joins the list of leading players in the space that have earned over Rs 200 crore in topline and are also profitable. Some of the top profitable companies in the real-money gaming space are Dream11, Gameskraft, A23, and Gameberry Labs.
Baazi Games’ revenue from operations grew 2.8X to Rs 232 crore during the fiscal year ending March 2023 in sharp contrast with Rs 83 crore in FY22, as per the company’s consolidated financial statements with the Registrar of Companies.
Established in 2014, Baazi Games operates skill gaming platforms including PokerBaazi, SportsBaazi, and CardBaazi. PokerBaazi is an online poker platform, while CardBaazi offers a variety of card games. SportsBaazi, formerly BalleBaazi, allows users to play live games while watching sports. The company also has other ventures like CasinoKart, PB School, Baazi Poker, and Tour.
It made 99% of its revenue through gaming while the remaining part came from the sale of traded goods and services.
Revenue Breakdown
FY22
Total ₹ 83 Cr
FY23
Total ₹ 232 Cr
To get some visibility in the market, Baazi Games also spent most of its expenses on advertising, similar to the other players in the space. This cost jumped 3.4X to Rs 118 crore during FY23 from Rs 34.41 crore in FY22.
Outsourcing and subcontracting costs for the company also ballooned multi-fold to Rs 46.68 crore in FY23. Spending on employee benefits spiked 2X to Rs 20.88 crore during the year from Rs 10.16 crore in FY22.
Expenses Breakdown
FY22
Total ₹ 78 Cr
FY23
Total ₹ 210 Cr
-
Advertising
-
Outsourcing and sub-contracting
-
Employee benefits
-
Payment gateway
-
Website and server charges
-
Others
The company also spent a significant amount on the payment gateway, website, server charges, and more. Overall, the total expenditure of the company surged 2.7X to Rs 210 crore in FY23 from Rs 78 crore in FY22.
Head to TheKredible for a complete expense breakdown and year-on-year financial performance about the company.
Despite rising expenses, the company managed to grow its bottom line by a significant margin. Its profits grew 3.8X to Rs 17.46 crore during FY23 as compared to Rs 4.53 crore in FY22.
However, the operating cash flows of the company declined 68% to Rs 15.28 crore during the last fiscal year.
The EBITDA margin and ROCE of the company also improved to 10.36% and 67.45%, respectively, during the year which can be ascribed to the up trend in scale.
FY22-FY23
FY22 | FY23 | |
---|---|---|
EBITDA Margin | 7.63% | 10.36% |
Expense/₹ of Op Revenue | ₹0.94 | ₹0.91 |
ROCE | 36.91% | 67.45% |
On a unit level, the Baazi Games spent Re 0.91 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY23.