2014 has been a remarkable year for poker industry in India. From the launch of new poker rooms and online sites to state government issuing licence for gaming, several measures have strengthened the roots and reach of this game of skill. In 2014, the poker companies and casinos expanded their facilities while some states other than Goa and Karnataka looked ahead to break the barriers and welcome casino in its territory. Daman is all set to receive an integrated casino resort at The Deltin while Andhra Pradesh authorities are expected to show green flag to the pending proposals very soon. This year also saw a few established Indian poker players extending their knowledge and experience to entrepreneurship in poker and casino.
Several moments bolstered the poker industry in India but few made a major impact. We have picked up 5 most important milestones of Indian poker industry in 2014.
Rockets Poker Room launch
Rajiv Raut one of the well-known names in Indian Poker Circuit launched a brand new poker room in the heart of Silicon valley of India, Bangalore. Earlier he was associated with the Goa’s Deltin Royale. The poker room, after its launch has hosted a couple of good poker tournaments with sizeable turnout of players reaching to play live events. Rockets poker room with its decent interiors and adequate facilities has provided a good alternative for players who cannot reach Goa to wager.
Casino Carnival became Pride2
In February this year, Casino Carnival which belonged to VM Salgoacar & Bro Pvt Ltd was acquired by the Pride group and renamed to Pride 2. The gaming vessel anchored in Mandovi river was refurbished and opened for casino lovers again. With a modern state-of-art gaming area and competitive tariffs, Casino Pride 2 offers Live Roulette, Blackjack, Flush, Texas Holdem Poker and slot machine games. It is drawing players and tourists in sizeable numbers since launch.
Several Online poker sites launched
Eyeing the growing number of poker lovers in India, numerous online poker sites mushroomed in 2014. Thrill Poker, Grandmaster Poker were the two main launches in 2014 while the old Deccan Poker re-launched with under a new name Khelo 365. While the newbies kept struggling to drive traffic in their poker lobbies, adda52.com, India’s largest poker sites achieved several milestones with exclusive poker tournaments and promotions. The 4-month long Poker Millionaire Tour at adda52.com with a massive prize pool of Rs 1.3 Crore was the highlight of online poker in India in 2014.
Management change at Deltin Royale poker room
The biggest and most luxurious poker rooms onboard the Deltin Royale Casino got a new management in form of a trio of industry expertise. Sameer Rattonsey and Rajeev Kanjani of India Poker Championship (IPC) and Amin Rozani took the charge of Deltin Royale Poker room from Anil Gulati in November. With an individual experience of 5 years each, the trio will add to the professional level of organizing poker games and tournaments at The Deltin.
Sikkim government issued online gaming License
Lottery King Santiago Martin owned M/s. Future Gaming Solutions Private Limited got the first regular license from Sikkim government to launch online gaming in the state. They got a nod from the government to offer poker, baccarat, roulette, blackjack etc on their site but within the territory of the state as per Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2008. This triggered a fresh discussion on whether other states will also initiate to grant licences to online gaming site in coming days.