India’s leading ticketing platform BookMyShow is making moves in the esports sector, as the company’s valuation looks set to surpass $1 billion.

The Indian ticketing company has recently made hires within its new esports category.

BookMyShow’s foray into the fast-growing esports market began in December, when the company provided ticketing for the Mumbai edition of international esports festival Dream Hack.

The ticketer joins a long list of music industry businesses to dip their toes into the esports sector.

Companies that have invested in, or partnered with, major esports competitions and teams in recent years include DEAG, AEG, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), TEG in Australia and Madison Square Garden Company (MSG).

The ticketer joins a long list of music industry businesses to dip their toes into the esports sector

The development comes as BookMyShow prepares to sell a stake which will see its valuation surpass the US$1 billion mark.

The 10 to 12% stake is being eyed up by investors including private equity firm General Atlantic, investment bank Goldman Sachs and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, which owns a stake in CAA.

BookMyShow has raised over $220m in funding since 2007, most recently receiving $100m in a round led by CAA majority owner, TPG.

The ticketing giant has established a presence outside India in recent months, signing a five-year partnership with Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena in May.

BookMyShow is also looking to move into cashless event payments, following an April investment in payment technology firm AtomX.

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BookMyShow, India’s largest online ticketing company, has invested in payment technology startup AtomX in order to leverage its cashless payment platform at live entertainment events.

The investment will allow BookMyShow to seamlessly enable AtomX’s cashless solutions at its events, using near-field communication (NFC) cards, wristbands and key chains.

Launched in 2012 by Abhilash Gowdara, Pune-based AtomX claims to have processed more than half a million transactions in India, totalling over US$6.5 million. The company produces close-loop contactless, NFC-based payment technology.

“We are extremely excited about the contactless technology penetration in India and the future of the country as it rapidly moves towards a cashless society,” says Abhilash Gowdara, founder and chief executive of AtomX.

“We are looking to unify both online and offline payments, enabling live entertainment events to accept contactless bank-issued cards beyond our close-loop tags”

“We are looking to unify both online and offline payments, enabling live entertainment events to accept contactless bank-issued cards beyond our close-loop tags which offer users multiple options to tap and pay at all our live events,” adds Gowdara.

Ashish Hemrajani, founder and chief executive officer BookMyShow, states the ticketing company is continually improving its customer service, which “includes safer and smoother digital transactions both while buying tickets and for on-ground services.

“We also strive to provide relevant data analytics, insights around events to vendors and organisers to better deliver the experience to our customers. Our partnership with AtomX will play an instrumental role in furthering this experience,” says the BookMyShow boss.

BookMyShow has received a total of US$224.5m since 2007, most recently securing $100m in an investment round led by Creative Artists Agency owner TPG. According to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2018, the company has a virtual monopoly of India’s online ticketing market, with a 78% market share.

The leading Indian ticketing company has plans to grow internationally over the next few years, recently announcing its first venture into international sales, in the form of the London West End production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical The King and I.

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