Rising Popularity Of Western Casino Classics Has Not Overthrown Traditional Indian Games
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A recent study on real money gaming trends in modern-day India highlights "the stable interest and consistent player demand that Asian games tend to generate". The likes of Indian favourites Teen Patti, Andar Bahar, Jhandi Munda, together with traditional games of Chinese origin such as Sic Bo and Dragon Tiger, do not fade in popularity on the desi online casino scene as "the cultural heritage and gaming habits of many Indian families justify such visibility".
The study, authored by the SevenJackpots analytics team led by industry researcher Svilen Madjov, examines primary data on the anonymous preferences of more than 170 thousand registered users on the PureWin casino gaming platform for a 14-month period until December 2021. The team also uses third-party industry-wide statistics and Google Trends insights as secondary sources to compare and confirm its findings.
Primary data analysis shows that 13.5 percent of the turnover and roughly 10 percent of the player count in the top 30 games comes from Andar Bahar, Teen Patti and other Indian games. Expanding the selection to the 100 most popular games brings similar results.
Andar Bahar ranks first among all Indian card games and is the fourth most played game for the analysed period. The game is notable for the fact that "it also attracts a large number of high-rollers, players who raise total turnovers and gaming sessions' length considerably," the researchers point out.
Teen Patti is another game that rates high in registered player preferences which is in line with the general tendency of the game to dominate mobile app top grossing rankings. Various Teen Patti apps regularly take 4 out of the top 5 (and often the first three) positions in casino game downloads.
Other traditional Asian games that enjoy high popularity among online casino offerings include Indian Jhandi Munda and Ludo, and Chinese Sic Bo, Dragon Tiger and Fan-Tan.
Jhandi Munda is most strongly favourited in the south of the country, with 45.7 percent of its players residing in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Super Sic Bo is the top choice in Madhya Pradesh and the third most popular table game with a live dealer within the analysed period, accounting for 2.78 of the money bet.
Classic Western Casino Games Are Catching The Attention Of Desi Players
The stable demand for Indian and other Asian games is being maintained on the background of a rising popularity of massive proportions of classic Western casino games observed by the SevenJackpots research team. The trend is spearheaded by roulette and slot games, but blackjack, baccarat, and Texas hold'em poker are also gaining significant traction.
Roulette clearly stands out from all other games by generating the colossal 70.1 percent of the turnover and 53 percent of the total money bet within the top 30 games, with these shares dropping only a little within the top 100 games.
The single game title of Lightning Roulette leads the chart by a distance with its 3,180 players being responsible for 28.24 percent of the turnover and 22.55 percent of the bet volume generated by the top 30 game group.
The runner-up by number of gamers - Instant Roulette - has been chosen by 2,164 people who supplied 4.26 percent of the turnover and 5.06 percent of the total money bet.
The other Western casino game type that stands strong in current-day desi real money gaming preferences is slots. Among the 28 thousand registered players who chose from the top 30 games, slots account for 29 percent of all gaming sessions.
The prominence of slots rises if the sample is extended to the top 100 games, where slots made 35.7 percent of all gaming sessions, rivalling the 35.8 percent share of roulette titles.
Notably, out of the 2,640 game offerings on the PureWin platform, active player sessions were registered for more than 2,300 slot games. "The astounding amount of game supply corresponds to high player interest and growing market competitiveness," the authors of the study comment.
Blackjack, baccarat and Texas hold'em jointly account for 9 percent of the turnover and 11.6 percent of the player count, while Speed Baccarat ranks highest among all card games in the top 30 shortlist.
As a whole, Indian online casino fans display an overwhelming preference for live-dealer versions of games and a strong inclination towards visually-rich, but fast and simplified gameplay looking for instant results. Western casino classics have gained a firm hold in desi real money gaming, but are far from overthrowing traditional Indian games.
