Anton Rublievskyi, CEO, PMI & Dmitry Belianin, CMO, PMI
Parimatch has found a niche for itself in India’s expanding sports betting and gaming space, and the brand sees scope for further growth as the industry gets a legal framework, and becomes more structured and consolidated. Anton Rublievskyi, CEO, PMI and Dmitry Belianin, CMO PMI hold forth on their hopes and ambitions for Parimatch’s Indian innings
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- What plans do you have for India that will help boost the economy?
Anton: As an online gaming and tech company, I wish we had so much power to boost India’s economy! But I think the only thing that we are trying to do, for which we are interacting with the government of India, is talk about legalisation and licensing—this will definitely boost the economy. Because, globally there is a trend, and in many emerging markets there is a huge trend, of legislation and licensing of this industry. In Tier 1 markets like the United States, they were saying 5-7 years back that they will never legalise it. Now half of the states have legislation. So does Canada. Most countries in Africa that we are talking with are having these licenses, and this has a lot of benefits for both sides, for the companies as well as the players. The biggest beneficiaries are the customers because they are protected. Then there is a gaming commission that protects the interests of the players. All this is possible if the market is legalised.
For the government, this is definitely a big source of tax. In African countries, for example, the level of taxation we are paying is approximately 20%-30% from the revenue that we are generating.
As you know, there are already three states in India that have started licensing. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of licensing that allows you to work pan-India, but we have to be patient because these are just the first steps. As soon as any big state introduces legislation, and provides the opportunity for companies like us to receive licenses, then there will be gradual state-by-state legalisation of this industry. So, we are cooperating with different states and the government to make licensing possible in India.
Dmitry: Once there is legalisation, job opportunities will increase. Legalisation will also develop sports in the country because right now, there are many sports—among them cricket and Kabaddi—that are present in rural areas, but how many require financial support, how many are actually breaking even? It is very important for us to allow these sports and the local teams to get that financial support, and we are here to help.
Another point is integrity in sports. Obviously, the problem of fixed matches and of corruption exists in India. But sport betting companies are taking a stand against corrupt practices, and there are many alliances that are helping to expose these practices. So, this kind of legalisation will also bring integrity to sports in the country.
- Is legalising betting an option that could be considered, and if so, why?
Dmitry: We would like to see legalisation of betting in India with a proper legal infrastructure to monitor operations. Yes, India is a highly populated country hence introducing and imposing certain rules sometimes gets a bit difficult, keeping the different sentiments in mind. But in the long run, if betting is legalised in a proper way, it can become a great revenue source for the country.
In our opinion, legalising betting can provide the tools to protect players from scam operators and fraudsters, and enable payment providers to speed up processes within the industry. Legalisation will also help grow the industry and remove the “stigma” around betting and gaming.
- Parimatch is associated with a lot of big names in the sporting world—which sports are the major contributors to the company’s business, and what sports does Parimatch focus on?
Dmitry: For our brand, we feel every sport is important. It will be unfair to say that Parimatch somehow singles out certain sports in a special way. However, there are sports like Cricket, Football, Kabaddi and Ping-Pong, among others, which are contributing to our business in a huge way. Recently, Parimatch News has been actively planning to support one of the oldest national sports, Kabaddi, and had teamed up with Tamil Thalaivas as its title sponsor in India. And lately, we signed a three-year contract with one of the world’s most famous football clubs, Chelsea, the 2020-21 European Champions, to promote football. We always try to promote sports among our fans, and we encourage them with various sweepstakes, prizes, ratings, etc—last year during the IPL, we had sent four cricket winners and fans of our Teleport Quiz to Dubai to promote the sport and witness the IPL finals live.
- How big is Parimatch in terms of revenue and profit? And how is your company growing?
Anton: Because Parimatch is a private and not a public company, we’re not able to reveal our numbers. But we are quite big in different markets, in Ukraine as well as in Asia, and we’re growing. Every time there’s an IPL, the industry shows a significant amount of growth. Search intent jumps up 2.5-3 times, depending on the brand and its investments in the advertising. The number of active customers per brand is growing very close to that figure. There are certain users who bet only on IPL and who do so every year. Last year, for example, the total growth of Parimatch as a group was more than 150%.
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