Pocket52 Raises US$1.75 Million from Gameskraft

Pocket52 has raised US$1.75 million (approx. Rs. 13.2 crores) from game publisher Gameskraft as part of its Series A funding.

Although this news has only now been made public, Glaws has privately learnt that the deal was finalised in November 2019.

Commenting on the news, Nitesh Salvi, CEO and co-founder of Pocket52, said: "With Gameskraft on board as the lead investor, Pocket52 now has the additional operational, technological, and commercial flexibility to develop innovative and exciting new partnerships and offer a broader customer choice."

Ramesh Prabhu, CFO of Gameskraft, added: "With the skill-based Real Money Gaming (RMG) space in India gaining whirlwind momentum especially in online poker, we are positive about our association with Pocket52. We are confident that the future holds huge growth potential as the concept of shared liquidity pool is introduced in this market."

Gameskraft launched in 2017 and delivers web and mobile games with intuitive design and smooth user experience.

Pocket52 was set-up in 2018 by entrepreneurs, Nitesh Salvi, Saurav Suman, Debashish Bhattacharjee, and Satyam Verma. It’s an online poker platform that boasts an innovative plug and play system, which allows other gaming brands to offer online poker on their existing platforms.

Users from all platforms can be linked, letting players share pools and compete against each other, regardless of which site or app they have logged in from.

For operators, benefits include lower depositor and engagement costs, and the chance of better revenues from being able to offer bigger games and tournaments.

The Bangalore-based company currently works with partners including Mobile Premier League (MPL), Nostragamus, and Calling Station.

It claims to have nearly 100,000 monthly active users playing poker on its platform, of which 70% are repeat players.

And like other online gaming firms in India, it has seen a rise in registrations and playing time under the COVID-19 lockdown, with its user base growing five-fold.

Pocket52 has plans to raise another US$10 million (approx. Rs. 75 crores) of institutional funding in the next three to six months and to add more games, like rummy, to its platform.

Plans to expand outside India and attract players worldwide to play against local users are also in the pipeline.