From Adda to App: How India’s Love for Card Games is Moving from Living Rooms to Smartphones

Card games like rummy have livened up addas among friends and families for decades. They continue to do so even today. However, their online reincarnation has quietly brewed up a storm in the gaming industry in India. The $3.8 billion Indian games industry is powered by the success of real money games, including your favourite poker and rummy app.

Card games have always been an excuse to socialise among friends and families at dinner parties and festivals. It has also brought together strangers on street corners and during long train journeys. But now, nearly 936 million Indians have internet access. 60% of them use their smartphones to play games. In India, more than 148 million gamers are spending money on games, a clear marker of the popularity of real money games.

The popularity of card games in addas played a key role in this popularity.

An Old Favourite

The youngsters who have recently started playing on rummy apps like RummyCulture may not realise, but card games have been central to social gatherings for a long time. Although the recent success of rummy and Teen Patti may be connected to the decades of their offline popularity, card games have a deeper history in India. Even centuries ago, card games like Ganjifa were being played in royal courts and inns alike.

From Dehla Pakad in Punjab to Kavidi in Tamil Nadu, card games have developed into different incarnations across the country. Take the game of Mendikot, for instance. The Gujaratis developed a card game that needed negotiation and strategy generations ago. All these card games have remained favourites in social gatherings for centuries, reflecting their deep-rooted cultural appeal.

The viral success of games like Angry Birds surely boost the gaming industry. But what the industry in India has greatly benefitted from is the country’s long-standing card-playing tradition.

Putting it into Application

With a market-ready at their disposal, card game platforms only needed to develop quality gaming applications. During the last two decades, several such card game apps joined the industry. These apps clocked millions of downloads and continue to rule at the apex of the Indian gaming ecosystem. It is estimated that more than 100 million Indians play rummy on online platforms. It is an important constituent of the real money games segment, which contributes roughly 83-84% of the revenue in the Indian games industry.

Rummy, in turn, accounts for 60% of this segment’s revenue. Poker is another important component, along with other popular card games. It is safe to say that the popularity of card games has extended from living rooms to online platforms in India.

On Solid Ground

The rising popularity of card games on online platforms has been built on solid grounds. Various factors have contributed to this strong foundation. The most obvious among them is digitisation. To play cards, you no longer need to be in an adda anymore. Online players are playing their favourite card games with their smartphones – anytime and from anywhere. These games also quench the card player’s urge to test their skills.

The skill-based gameplay of card games like rummy requires expertise, skills and strategic brilliance. This makes these games engaging and challenging, something every card player looks forward to.

The Real Deal

The real money card games are the real deal for paying gamers. Card game platforms host regular tournaments that offer lucrative winning sums. Picking one’s brain to succeed in real money games is a convincing motivation for gamers. The thrill of winning and moving up the leaderboard motivates them further.

The fact that card games have been adjudged as completely legal by the Indian judiciary also aided their popularity. Poker and rummy platforms were given a clean chit in terms of legality after it was decided that the games played were based on skill and not luck. Along with legality, recognised card game platforms focussed on safety. These platforms encrypt their financial transactions and information exchanges, invest in ensuring the randomness of card play, and ensure fair play in games. This has raised their reliability in the view of the average gamer.

The Final Shuffle

Within the real money games market, casual card games like rummy and poker have grown at a faster pace compared to non-card games. During the pandemic, rummy increased its market share sharply, from 50% of the online games market to 57% between 2019 and 2021. Even after the end of the lockdowns, the growth of card games continued at a steady pace. Even now, revenue from real money games is expected to grow at a healthy 8% CAGR till 2029. As such, card games will continue to be played on mobile screens across India in the years to come.