“Our hunger for innovation gives us an edge over the competitors” – Navkiran Singh

With sports returning after a long break and online games never going out of fashion, online platforms like Baazi Games have grabbed everyone’s attention. In an interview with The Gaming Reporter, Navkiran Singh, Founder & CEO of Baazi Games shared insights on competition in the field,  impact of IPL & the pandemic.

The Gaming Reporter – How has the pandemic affected Baazi Games?

Navkiran Singh – We’ve seen mixed results, considering all the three platforms. While our online Poker and Rummy platforms- PokerBaazi.com and RummyBaazi.com respectively, experienced a surge in traffic as people were looking for new entertainment avenues during the lockdown, the Fantasy Sports platform, BalleBaazi.com took a hit due to live sports coming to a standstill; but we’re innovators so to fill in the void of live matches, we introduced Virtual Fantasy Leagues, in partnership with FanBlaze, and integrated the Quiz feature. We took it as an opportunity and also added international sports like Baseball and Basketball to further expand our fantasy portfolio and offer people some sporting action, no matter wherever it was being played.

TGR – What makes online games platforms popular among youth?

NS – The youth likes to be on the move, in control of their choices and appreciates anything that goes with their fast-paced lifestyle. Thanks to Smartphone and online games, they have that convenience to enjoy and unwind at their will. As reported by Statista, 16-34 years old hold majority of share in the usage of smartphones. This group of people are “always on” and have a strong inclination for quick entertainment and cash rewards, which naturally draws them to online Poker & Rummy. The advent of online card games has disrupted the traditional way of playing.

When online games came into existence, people were introduced to more engaging versions of the game and a variety of formats and cash games. Furthermore, in a cricket-crazy nation like ours, fantasy gaming is a big hit as it rewards die-hard fans of the game for their skills and expertise, which they otherwise flaunt only in their conversations. It makes watching the game even more exciting, not to mention rewarding.

TGR – What are the different ways players can earn on Baazi platforms?

NS – We take pride in being the country’s most rewarding online games operator. From sign-up bonuses and 100% cashback deposit codes, to daily flash codes, we offer players the maximum value for their time and money at every step of the way. We have several micro, small and big-ticket tournaments, allowing users to join as per their spending capacity. Our referral program and industry-leading Loyalty Program, Baazi Rewards, are other sources of earning on our platforms. As the users keep playing on our platform, we credit Reward Points to their account, which can be redeemed to claim a paid vacation, gadgets, bikes, car and more.

TGR – How has the IPL 2020 season impacted the BalleBaazi.com platform?

NS – We were waiting for the IPL 2020 season, both as a business, and fans. While we tried sustaining the engagement on our platform during the lockdown period with Quiz and Virtual Leagues, IPL became more important than ever to bring back the attention of the masses, especially the recreational crowd, alongside acquiring new users. We were ready with new features like Tournament and Weekly Fantasy, along with new Fantasy formats, Batting, Bowling, Reverse, and Wizard namely, to thrill the audiences and it has paid off. By the end of this season, we will end up adding nearly 2 Million to our user-base of 4 million and take it to the 6 Million mark.

ALSO READ: In conversation with Amit Purohit, Founder, Fantasy Akhada

TGR – What kind of measures are taken to retain the existing users and attract newer ones to the Baazi platforms?

NS – Our loyalty program, Baazi Rewards, along with challenging tournaments and enticing offers every month, have worked wonders for us in retaining the users on PokerBaazi.com and RummyBaazi.com. For BalleBaazi.com, the recently introduced Reward Programme is also showing great results. We credit BB Coins in case a player’s team loses, thereby making everybody a winner. Those coins can be further redeemed to claim prizes at the BB Rewards Store. Welcome Bonuses and cashbacks on first deposit continue to be key contributing factors in acquiring new users. Our creative team has been doing a wonderful job at enticing the audience with engaging content, in terms of live streaming of games, giveaway contests, etc. We run free-rolls daily for users to feel confident about themselves and then move to the bigger tournaments.

TGR – Some people easily get addicted to online games, they are unable to control their engagement and lose a lot of money forcing them to take extreme steps. After such an occurrence in Puducherry, CM of the Union Territory is looking to get such platforms banned, what are your thoughts?

NS – Being gamers ourselves, we understand the psyche of fellow gamers better. This has helped us put several measures in place to limit our users from going beyond control. As a responsible operator, we closely monitor our users’ playing behaviour and in case they’re found playing excessively, we communicate to them immediately and make consultations mandatory, as part of our policy. Our players’ well-being is our utmost priority for which we have also set-up free psychologist consultation and block their accounts on their request. We have features through which users can self-exclude themselves and find their account as is, upon resuming.

TGR – How does the platform ensure responsible gaming?

NS – Our 24×7 hotline, Baazi Care, is one of the many measures that we take to ensure responsible gaming. Players facing any kind of emotional, physical or mental struggles can reach out to our support team, who further connect them to our wellness experts. Besides, we also have various tools on our apps that help people manage their bankroll and set deposit limits on their account.

TGR – Considering online games is a rapidly growing field, especially fantasy sports, how does Baazi Games aim to stand out from its competition?

NS – Our hunger for innovation gives us an edge over the competitors. Constantly upgrading the tech, enhancing the user experience, taking community feedback and implementing it quickly happens to be our major focus. Our #PlayerFirst policy is definitely going to get us where we want. We have a legacy of setting new benchmarks with our thrilling tournaments. We’re the brains behind India’s first online tournament series, PokerBaazi Premier League, which started in 2015 and has now become a much-anticipated gala event for Poker players in the country. We’re also credited with offering the highest amount of prize money of INR 5 Crore in an online Poker tournament, which was called ‘The EndBoss’. Also, as mentioned before we have introduced various variants of fantasy leagues on our fantasy gaming vertical BalleBaazi.com. We will continue to come up with new and improvised version of such tournaments like only we can.

WATCH: Interview with Shagufta ‘Xyaa‘ Iqbal