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CCI questions Google’s ‘arbitrary’ policies on real-money gaming

YourStoryYourStory · 8m ago
CCI questions Google’s ‘arbitrary’ policies on real-money gaming
Medial

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is investigating Google for alleged anti-competitive behavior following complaints by Winzo Games. Winzo Games claims that Google abused its dominant market position in app distribution, payment systems, and advertising. The CCI will specifically examine Google's Play Store policies and its treatment of real-money gaming (RMG) apps. Winzo Games alleges that Google unfairly limited the availability of RMG apps, resulting in a loss of business for the company. Google defended its actions, citing regulatory uncertainties. The CCI raised concerns about Google's justifications and highlighted potential competition concerns. The investigation will conclude within 60 days.

Winzo ends FY23 with Rs 674 Cr revenue and Rs 126 Cr PAT

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Winzo ends FY23 with Rs 674 Cr revenue and Rs 126 Cr PAT
Medial

Online gaming startup Winzo registered 2.8X growth in its scale during the fiscal year ending March 2023. Significantly, the Delhi-based company also posted a hefty profit of Rs 126 crore in the same period. Winzo’s revenue from operations surged to Rs 674 crore in FY23 from Rs 234 crore in FY22, its consolidated financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies show. Established in 2018, Winzo offers over 100 games across categories such as strategy, sports, casual, card, arcade, racing, action, and board games. The service fees levied on the total funds involved in real money games, and the sale of digital or in-app vouchers were the only revenue drivers for Winzo. The company also made Rs 16.78 crore from interest (non-operating), taking its total revenue to Rs 691 core in FY23. Similar to every online gaming platform, Winzo spent a major chunk (46% of its total expenditure) on marketing (advertising cum promotions). This cost surged 29.6% to Rs 258 crore in FY23. The firm’s burn on employee benefits, legal-professional, commission paid to agents, direct gaming costs, and other overheads catalyzed its overall expenditure to Rs 564 crore in FY23 from Rs 375 crore in FY22. See TheKredible for the complete expense breakdown. Expense Breakdown Total ₹ 375 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/winzo-games/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/winzo-games/financials Total ₹ 564 Cr https://thekredible.com/company/winzo-games/financials View Full Data To access complete data, visithttps://thekredible.com/company/winzo-games/financials Employee benefit Employee benefit Information technology Information technology Legal professional Legal professional Commission paid to other selling agents Commission paid to other selling agents Advertising promotional Advertising promotional Gaming related direct cost Gaming related direct cost Others To check complete Expense Breakdown visit thekredible.com View full data Caveat: We have excluded the cost of financial liabilities designated at fair value through profit and loss (CCPS) while calculating the total expenses for both years (FY23 and FY22). That said, a notable jump in scale helped Winzo report Rs 126 crore profit in FY23 as compared to a loss of Rs 130 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin improved to 27% and 19% respectively. On a unit level, the company spent Rs 0.84 to earn a rupee in FY23. FY22-FY23 FY22 FY23 EBITDA Margin -53% 19% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.60 ₹0.84 ROCE -39% 27% Winzo has raised around $100 million to date including a $65 million Series C round led by California-based Griffin Gaming Partners in July 2021. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Makers Fund is the largest external stakeholder with 15.77% followed by Griffin Gaming Partners and Courtside Ventures. The significant jump in profits for Winzo underscores the best case scenario for most gaming platforms today. A high fixed cost business till it achieves critical mass in terms of users and fees, and post that, very low cost increases, as most of the incremental money goes to the bottomline. For Winzo, however, future investments will beckon soon, both in terms of new game development as well as the high marketing spends, which it will find tough to tamp down for now. But with a growing gamers user base across the country and with itself, next only to China, maintaining margins may not be as tough. You can be sure that if it does so in FY24, India will have its next high growth Unicorn from gaming to talk about.

WinZO concludes 4th ESOP buyback

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
WinZO concludes 4th ESOP buyback
Medial

Online gaming startup Winzo has announced the completion of its fourth round of employee stock options plan (ESOP) liquidation. This initiative allows eligible employees, approximately 30% of WinZO’s workforce, comprising team members with at least two years of tenure, to liquidate their vested ESOPs. In the last 12 months, the company has filed more than 25 technology patents across the world for its supercomputing technology, real-time communication innovation, and AI applications in content creation. Established in 2018, Winzo offers over 100 games across categories such as strategy, sports, casual, card, arcade, racing, action, and board games. Previously, WinZO conducted three rounds of ESOP liquidation in 2021 and 2023. With a team of 200 members, WinZO has raised $100 million in cumulative funding from leading investors, including Griffin Gaming Partners, Maker’s Fund, Courtside Ventures, and Kalaari Capital. According to data intelligence platform, TheKredible, Winzo’s revenue from operations surged to Rs 674 crore in FY23 from Rs 234 crore in FY22. Similar to every online gaming platform, Winzo spent a major chunk (46% of its total expenditure) on marketing (advertising cum promotions). This cost surged 29.6% to Rs 258 crore in FY23. Recently, Whatfix rolled out a $58 million liquidity program for its employees and investors. In the ongoing calendar year, Swiggy, Urban Company, MyGate, Classplus, Meesho, The Sleep Company, XYXX, Purplle, Dehaaat, Leverage Edu, Pocket FM and Adda247 bought back ESOPs from their employees.

Google proposes to allow real money games on Play Store

EntrackrEntrackr · 9d ago
Google proposes to allow real money games on Play Store
Medial

Google has proposed allowing real money games (RMGs) on Google Play in India as part of efforts to address anti-competition concerns. In addition, the tech giant has suggested changes to its Google Ads Policy, permitting games of skill to be advertised in India subject to certain conditions. Last year, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered an investigation against Google following a complaint filed by Winzo Games. In response, Google has submitted a commitment proposal to the regulator. “The Play Commitment Proposal, along with the Ads Commitment Proposal, addresses the Hon’ble Commission’s concerns by ensuring inclusive access to Google Play and Google Ads for all compliant RMGs, eliminating any alleged competitive disadvantages, and standardizing policies to prevent any adverse effects on competition,” Google said in its proposal. The CCI had stated that excluding certain RMG apps from Google Play could result in denial of market access and that the selective onboarding of DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) and Rummy apps allegedly distorts the competitive landscape. It was also noted that the extended duration of the pilot program, which only included DFS and Rummy apps, perpetuated advantages for these apps and created barriers for new entrants. According to Google, it will replace the current pilot program by allowing the distribution of all RMGs self-declared by developers as permissible online real money games according to applicable laws and jurisprudence, on Google Play in India. Google is also finalizing an approach for an appropriate business model that takes into account developer commercial models in the RMG industry. Regarding its Ads Policy, it will permit games of skill to be advertised in India if the advertiser provides proof of good standing with a recognized third party and meets certain other conditions. Among other points, Google clarified that payment warnings are developer-agnostic, applied uniformly and transparently, and are objectively necessary for user safety, as mandated by directives from the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India.

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