If anyone is interested in buying a poker team, now’s the time to do it. India’s Poker Sports League (PSL) has a team for sale, the Kolkata Royal
s, and is currently accepting bids. Despite having been close to selling the team twice in the past month, both deals fell through due to a conflict of interest between the potential owner and the league.
The new owner will have to sign an eight-year contract to run the team. Franchise fees the first year amount to a little more than $88,000 and the player fee is around $21,500. One hundred percent of the revenue picked up through sponsorships and advertising deals is retained by the franchisee, while 50% of the revenue earned by the PSL is divided among all the teams in the league.
The PSL is a unified poker league comprised of 12 teams competing for cash. Each team has nine players – one mentor or captain, two professional players, two players from live free qualifying games, two from free online qualifying games and two wild card entries. Anyone in India is eligible to be a part of a team, and online players can qualify by playing on India’s premiere poker site, Adda52.com.
The PSL launched in 2017, and had a very successful run. This year, a larger turnout is expected when the league launches in April, and the games could be hosted in either Mumbai or Kolkata. The league’s founder, Amit Burman, indicated that season 2 has received a lot of attention and is gaining popularity.
A player ceremony will be held on April 15 in New Delhi in recognition of the beginning of the second season. The grand finale will be in May, and will be broadcast on the Discovery Group’s DSport sports channel. Viswanthan Anand, a chess grandmaster and Padma Vibhushan awardee, is endorsing the league and will be present for the final event.
Burman, along with his associates, created the PSL to promote poker in the country, and to have it recognized as not only a card game, but as an intellectual sport, as well. Poker interest in India has increased dramatically in the past year, and is on its way to becoming the favorite pastime in the country.
