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Gameskraft pauses operations of Pocket52

EntrackrEntrackr · 3m ago
Gameskraft pauses operations of Pocket52
Medial

Gameskraft has announced a strategic pause on its poker platform, Pocket52, as part of a broader plan to reassess and redefine its approach to the poker category in India. According to the company, it aims to deliver a more focused and differentiated experience to players, aligning with its long-term strategic vision for the poker segment. “The ‘Add Cash’ feature on Pocket52 will be discontinued on May 22, 2025, and gameplay will end on May 30, 2025. The platform will remain accessible until July 2025 for withdrawals, ensuring that all existing customer funds are secure and accessible through standard processes,” the company said in a release. Gameskraft has assured that the pause will not impact its employee strength and that all communications regarding withdrawals and further updates will be sent to players. While Gameskraft did not explicitly cite the 28% GST imposed by the government on gaming startups as a reason, it cannot be ruled out as a factor behind the strategic pause. Several startups have faced layoffs and shutdowns since the implementation of the tax. Despite the operational pause, Gameskraft continues to focus on creating innovative digital experiences for players across its gaming portfolio. According to TheKredible, Gameskraft’s revenue from operations grew to Rs 3,475 crore in FY24 from Rs 2,673 crore in FY23. During the period, its profit dropped 10.8% to Rs 947 crore. Besides Pocket52, Gameskraft also runs Rummy Culture, Playship, RummyPrime, Ludo Culture, and Rummy Time.

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Gameskraft achieves Rs 3,500 Cr income in FY24 with Rs 947 Cr PAT

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Gameskraft achieves Rs 3,500 Cr income in FY24 with Rs 947 Cr PAT
Medial

Gameskraft achieves Rs 3,500 Cr income in FY24 with Rs 947 Cr PAT Gameskraft has consistently reported net profits of around Rs 1,000 crore over the past three fiscal years. Despite encountering various legal challenges, the Bengaluru-based company achieved a 30% year-on-year growth in the fiscal year ending March 2024. Gameskraft’s revenue from operations grew to Rs 3,475 crore in FY24 from Rs 2,673 crore in FY23, its consolidated annual financial statements sourced from the Registrar of Companies show. Gameskraft operates popular gaming apps such as Rummy Culture, Playship, Pocket 52, RummyPrime, Ludo Culture, and Rummy Time. Its revenue (gross gaming revenue) comes from a platform fee or commission charged as a percentage of the buy-in fees users invest in games. This remained its sole revenue source during FY24. The company also made Rs 46 crore from interest on fixed deposits and gain on sale of current investments which tallied its overall revenue to Rs 3,521 crore in FY24 from Rs 2,732 crore in FY23. Similar to other gaming companies, Gameskraft has over a dozen brand ambassadors, including Harbhajan Singh, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Abhinav Bindra, and has run several campaigns on social media and TV. This pushed its advertising costs up by 113% to Rs 1,315 crore in FY24 from Rs 616 crore in FY23. Gameskraft employee benefits grew 23.5% to Rs 463 crore in FY24. This includes Rs 12 crore as ESOP cost which is settled in cash. Its legal, communication, domain, web hosting, and other overheads took the overall cost up by 71.7% to Rs 2232 crore in FY24 from Rs 1300 crore in FY23. The more than two-fold increase in advertising costs outpaced Gameskraft's revenue growth, causing its profits to drop by 10.8% to Rs 947 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,062 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at 69.4% and 37.46% respectively with an expense-to-earning ratio of Rs 0.64. At the end of FY24, Gameskraft's total current assets were recorded at Rs 1,680 crore with the cash and bank balance of Rs 306 crore. In the real-money gaming sector, MPL reported a 22.2% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,068 crore in FY24, while also achieving positive cash flow during the year. Gameberry saw a 46.9% growth in revenue to Rs 461.7 crore, with a 150% surge in profit to Rs 92.8 crore in the same period. Meanwhile, major competitors such as Dream11 and A23 have yet to release their financial results for FY24.

Mayhem at Arthmate after Vihaan Kumar’s arrest: COO Renu Satti resigns, employees exodus, and more

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Mayhem at Arthmate after Vihaan Kumar’s arrest: COO Renu Satti resigns, employees exodus, and more
Medial

A nearly two-year-long legal tussle with Gameskraft has pushed SaaS-based lending enabler Arthmate into utter chaos, including the arrest of its co-founder and former chief executive officer CEO, a top executive’s resignation, and employee exodus. Gameskraft co-founder and chief executive officer Ramesh Prabhu lodged a complaint with Gurugram Police (Sector 29) on September 2022, which led to an FIR being registered in March 2023, accusing Arthmate co-founder and former chief executive Vihaan Kumar of financial irregularities and fraudulent activities. 15 months after the FIR, Kumar was arrested by the police and Economic Offences Wing (EoW) on June 10, 2024, according to a court order accessed and reviewed by Entrackr. For the uninitiated, Gameskraft is one of the top profit generating startups from India which reported Rs 1,062 crore profit in FY23 with Rs 2,662 crore revenue. Arthmate is a digital lending platform that deploys credit services across fintechs and SME sectors. The firm recorded Rs 132 crore of revenue with profits of Rs 5.5 crore in FY23. “Vihaan’s arrest created a stir at the Gurguram-based firm which saw an exodus of employees including its chief operating officer Renu Satti,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. Satti, former Paytm Payment Banks CEO, joined the company in February this year. While her LinkedIn profile still shows her as COO at Arthmate Finance, sources confirm that she has resigned (after Vihaan’s arrest). Responding to Entrackr queries, an Arthmate spokesperson said that Kumar has no association with the company. “As the matter is sub-judice, we cannot comment on it at the moment,” said a Gameskraft spokesperson. Queries sent to Satti on Monday over WhatsApp did not elicit any response. We will update the story in case they respond. The heart of the matter Now coming back to charges leveled by Gameskraft’s Prabhu against Vihaan Kumar: Kumar entered into Gameskraft with the promise of making investments in the company, but slowly gained the confidence of the board intending to control its operations, as per the court order. Vihaan suggested restructuring the board of directors under his so-called investment strategy and also positioned his people as the key members of the Gameskraft board. He also apparently started representing himself as a founder and investor of Gameskraft, holding meetings with third parties, including consulting firms like E&Y and PWC, and government officials, the court order added. Vihaan introduced service providers and contractors like Fly Tech, Ginni Tech, Skytech, Synx, and others to GamesKraft without the consent of the original promoters, said the court order. These firms allegedly burdened Gameskraft with financial losses due to undelivered or over-invoiced services, as per the FIR details. Kumar’s actions had caused a financial loss of approximately Rs 12.15 crore to Gameskraft, including unpaid GST amounts that had already been remitted to the fraudulent service providers. Based on these allegations, the Gurugram police filed an FIR for criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, using forged documents, and criminal conspiracy. Vihaan Kumar allegedly used entities including Arthmate Tech P2P Financial Private Limited and Clear Though Advisors for alleged forgery, as per the court order. His close aides Vijay Kumar Dhanuka and Hitesh Bhansali represented Vihaan at Gameskraft. Dhanuka is head of operation and treasury at Arthmate for four years whereas Bhansali worked with the company as its grievance and nodal officer. Kumar also served as a co-Founder at Arthmate Finance, according to sources, but Entrackr could not verify this independently. No relief for Kumar, for now Vihaan Kumar was arrested on June 10, 2024, at his office premises in Gurugram. However, Kumar’s counsel contested that his arrest was illegal and challenged it in the Chandigarh High Court. The court, however, declined to offer any relief and rejected his claims on August 30, 2024. Kumar continues to be in prison until the court grants him a bail. The incident places the spotlight yet again on the impact the actions of a few can have on a firm. In Arthmate’s case, significant size and profitability has not been enough to shrug off the issues created by Kumar, indicating an outsized influence on the firm, for all their protestations to the contrary. A broader employee exodus in particular looks bad, indicating a deeper rot than just an aberration at the top. If the company does manage to arrest and slide and get back on track, one suspects it will still have to contend with the Kumar issue.

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