Junglee Games and Flutter Entertainment-The Unification of a Kindred Business Ethos

In January 2021, Flutter entertainment acquired a majority stake in Junglee Games. When M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) are initiated, both parties generally tend to look for a strategic fit, organizational cohesiveness, business synergy, and demographic viability as factors that would help predict the success of such a unification. While all of these elements are extremely important, I feel that there are a few more that need to be looked at from a more introspective lens, namely business mindset, cultural alikeness, and an outlook toward customers. Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to witness this partnership come to fruition over the last two years, and with a plethora of options in the Indian gaming ecosystem, I appreciate how Flutter and Junglee Games have been a great match. Through this article, I’m going to explore some of the reasons why I feel both companies decided to work together.  

Mindset

Mindset, especially in the business sense, has a natural characteristic to it. There are parts of it that can be taught; however, there are larger parts that are intuitive. This for me was the first point of synergy. Flutter prides itself on having the scale of a leader while bringing forth a challenger mindset to explore new markets and opportunities to expand its business. At Junglee Games, we’ve never rested on our laurels. We have been pioneers in the Indian skill gaming ecosystem.  We’ve always endeavored toward taking proactive strides by designing products that are easily accessible and entertaining for our users.  Some of our notable products include Howzat, our Daily Fantasy Sports platform, Rummy, and Solitaire.  We’ve also found success in international waters with freemium products like Eatme.io. 

Culture and values

A lot of people talk about how we have two lives; a professional life and a personal life. But in reality, you have only one life, and the best organizations are passionate about everything within it. It starts with the measurement of employee sentiment, which is integral at both Flutter and Junglee Games, to get a pulse of what’s working and what’s not. The tools used for measurement might be different; however, the motives and the desired outcomes are the same. Both organizations look to empower their employees and let them be the best versions of themselves, whether that’s through flexible working, creating new pathways in their career trajectories, or facilitating an environment that is truly inclusive and forthcoming. Both organizations are aware that their people are their brand, and if one doesn’t have the right people, no amount of marketing, promotions, or PR will be able to make up for it.  This is why it has been imperative for both businesses to hire, promote, and foster the best people who understand that great businesses are shaped by the greatest teams who create and embody a company's culture.

Keeping the customer at the center

Safer gaming is something that is very close to Flutter's belief system and corporate actions. Every customer needs a champion and Flutter embodies that with its responsible gaming practices. Through its Play Well program, Flutter utilizes its global footprint, capabilities, and expertise to provide players with tools, information, and support to enable a positive, safe, and entertaining experience. In a similar light at Junglee Games, we have always focused on making conscious choices to ensure our users enjoy their gameplay and are entertained in a safe manner. Be it through enabling features such as reminders to monitor screen time, cool-off periods, or self-exclusion, we have left no stone unturned to ensure our players play responsibly.

Cross-collaboration 

When two entities become part of one larger family, there is always a conundrum in terms of which direction to follow strategically, operationally, and functionally. It has been over a year and a half now since the transaction, and what I’ve seen is that Junglee Games continues to work its way with the support of the Flutter group while being empowered with new tools, resources, and ideas. With the universal reach of all the Flutter brands, we manage to share best practices and strategies that have worked for our individual brands. Some strategies and product lines might be very specific to specific geographies, while others have the capability of opening new revenue streams for the brand in question. The only way we are to know for certain is through collaboration and testing.

Since H1 2019, Junglee Games has seen a compounded growth of over 70% in revenues and over 100% in new players. With the support of Flutter, which provides access to expertise, technology, and resources, we have managed to accelerate our new product offerings, improve operational efficiencies, and work toward capitalizing on new growth opportunities. And we’re just getting started. Our teams are geared up to explore new technologies and create captivating experiences for our users.  As we embark on a new chapter in the history of Junglee Games with a team of almost 600, we’re just as excited as we were a decade ago as a small and nimble operation, with a dream to bring a new-found frontier to the world of gaming.