IPL 2023: 60% of 1st week matches sold out on Paytm Insider, platform eyes more sports events

A match between Gujarat Titans against Delhi Capitals on April 4 during IPL 2023 season.

Online ticketing platform Paytm Insider is seeing strong traction for Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, especially with the tournament seeing the return of home and away format.

The platform, which has ticketing rights for 6 out of the 10 IPL teams, is seeing an uptick in traffic on the platform as teams are going live with ticket sales for their respective home games.

"Fans are rushing to buy match ticket when they go live, with a few of the matches selling out within hours. Tickets for nine of the home matches are currently available on the platform. Most teams are live with their first 2 home matches of the season and are planning to go live with the next set in the following weeks. Sixty percent of matches available in the first week are sold out," said Varun Khare, Business Head, Paytm Insider.

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He said that tickets for IPL matches start at Rs 500 and go up to Rs 25,000 for premium seats.

Along with IPL, the platform is also eyeing other sports leagues including Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League, Hockey Men's World Cup, Tamil Nadu Premier League, among others.

Khare said that they have a three-year accreditation contract with BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and a two-year accreditation contract for the ICC World Cup. They had also partnered with the recently concluded Hockey World Cup along with the National Games Of India, Khelo India and international sporting events like FairBreak International League and The Asia Cup in the Middle East.

With sports making a strong comeback in 2023 after two-years of Covid-related challenges, the platform expects revenue contribution of sports segment to increase.

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"Ticketing for the IPL was centralised so we didn't ticket for it last year. Also, sports contributed to 20 percent of the value of total tickets sold on the platform. This year with association with 6 IPL teams and with the upcoming World Cup on the horizon we expect this to rise significantly," Khare said.