Mukesh Ambani sees online gaming as next big thing in India

For Asia’s richest man, online gaming could be the next big thing in his home market.

“There is a huge potential” for gaming to grow in India, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., said while speaking with Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella in Mumbai on Monday. “Gaming will be bigger than music, movies and television shows put together.”

Ambani said gaming doesn’t really exist in India and sees a huge opportunity with increasing broadband connectivity. He didn’t disclose whether his wireless upstart, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., will enter the gaming segment, after luring 380 million users to its 4G technology.

Ambani’s interest in gaming comes at a time when the country is witnessing the growth of online fantasy sports leagues, quizzing and card games such as poker. This is being aided by the proliferation of affordable smartphones -- users are expected to reach 850 million in two years -- high-speed internet and falling data prices.

Revenue from online gaming is expected to climb from 43.8 billion rupees ($610 million) in the year ended March 2018 to 118.8 billion rupees by fiscal 2023, KPMG said in a March 2019 report.