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Two days after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, cleared the Lok Sabha, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the much-talked-about bill, which aims to put a full stop to the entire real-money gaming industry in India, which employs thousands of people directly and indirectly.
Though touted as a death knell for RMG, a segment with which the big fish of India's gaming ecosystem are deeply associated, the bill brings cheers to esports and online social gaming companies. As PM Modi said, the government has all the big plans to make India a hub for e-sports and social gaming. But, for RMG, India is no more a market. The government has also completely banned ads and financial transactions related to RMG. There is also a provision of jail term up to three years and a fine that can go up to Rs 1 crore for those violating the rules.
Sources suggest the government's response to online money games was not instant, but one that followed after three years of deliberations and assessment of its negative impact on users. Unofficial estimates put the losses caused by the online money games to users at a whopping Rs 20,000 crore. Add to various incidents of negative psychological impact, social distress due to financial losses, and suicides linked to the addiction caused by these games.
August 2025
As India continues to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy, Fortune India presents its special issue on the nation’s Top 100 Billionaires. Curated in partnership with Waterfield Advisors, this year’s list reflects a slight decline in the number of dollar billionaires—from 185 to 182—even as the entry threshold for the Top 100 rose to ₹24,283 crore, up from ₹22,739 crore last year. From stalwarts like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and the Mistry family, who continue to lead the list, to major gainers such as Sunil Mittal and Kumar Mangalam Birla, the issue goes beyond the numbers to explore the resilience, ambition, and strategic foresight that define India’s wealth creators. Read their compelling stories in the latest issue of Fortune India. On stands now.
Amid the final approval of the bill, several big gaming companies have announced they are shutting their RMG operations in India. Here's what the companies said as the online gaming industry faces a tectonic shift in India:
'See you in our second innings': Dream11
Following this major development, India's largest sports-tech company, Dream11, said it stopped all paid contests and pivoted to a free-to-play online social game. With its RMG operations closed, which formed 60-80% of its entire business, Dream11 says its portfolio of sportstech businesses including FanCode, DreamSetGo and Dream Game Studios, along with our Dream Sports Foundation will continue to power its vision to “Make Sports Better”, and support the Prime Minister’s ambition of making India a "global sporting superpower".
"When we started this journey 18 years ago as a Sports Tech company, we were not even 1% of the size of the USA Fantasy Sports industry. Dream11’s Fantasy Sports product was our way to “Make Sports Better” for all of India. With this passion, belief, and the spirit of Made in India, for India, by Indians, we became the largest fantasy sports platform in the world.
Dream11 says it has always been a law-abiding company. "While we believe that progressive regulations would have been the right way forward, we will respect the law and will fully comply with “The Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Law, 2025”.
Committed to delivering responsible gaming: Zupee
Gurugram-based online gaming major Zupee said its players can continue to enjoy their favourite games on the platform, but paid titles won't be available anymore. “In line with the new Online Gaming Bill 2025, we are discontinuing paid games, but our hugely popular free titles like Ludo Supreme, Ludo Turbo, Snakes & Ladders, and Trump Card Mania will continue to be available for all users for free. We remain committed to delivering fun, engaging, and responsible gaming & entertainment experiences to our 150+ million users across India for free,” a spokesperson said.
Will continue to fuel India's digital journey: WinZO
Another online gaming major with 250 million users and 100+ games, WinZO said it will abide by the law of the land while continuing to fuel India’s digital journey. "WinZO remains steadfast and united, with the unqualified and absolute support of our partners, investors, and the team. We stay aligned with national goals, move faster, and continue to create value for all stakeholders."
The company said in compliance with the new law, it is withdrawing the impacted offerings with effect from August 22, 2025. "Our vision was simple yet bold: to offer game developers an alternative to restrictive app store monopolies, giving them seamless access to millions of users in India and beyond. Today, WinZO is the trusted partner for developers launching in India and Brazil, a bridge connecting global creators with global consumers, especially for the Indian market."
Other major startups that facilitated RMG games on their platforms, MPL, A23, Games 24x7, PokerBaazi, and Probo, have also announced the closure of their RMG operations.
What could be the negative impacts of the bill?
Experts say India's proposal to prohibit online real-money games, rather than regulate them, will harm the domestic gaming industry and undermine investor confidence. "This move disregards numerous Indian Court rulings that have affirmed the legality of skill-based online games, which are distinct from gambling," Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, tells Fortune India.
India's gaming industry has seen significant growth despite challenges like unfavourable GST policies and state-level regulatory uncertainty. Despite several alleged negative aspects that led to the banning of their RMG divisions, these platforms empower individuals to monetise their skills in a legally recognised format. "This proposed ban represents a sharp policy reversal, abandoning the Government's earlier plan for industry self-regulation under the 2021 IT Intermediary Rules. Such a drastic shift signals to investors that the government can arbitrarily dismantle a thriving sector, creating significant regulatory risk," says Chowdhury.
Ananay Jain, Partner, Media, AVGC, E-gaming, Grant Thornton Bharat, says the new bill will have a huge impact on the new-age industry. He says the government appears confident it can absorb a ₹20,000–30,000 crore tax loss—projected to double by 2030— but asserted that the industry players will have to rethink their strategies to survive. He warns that an outright ban on RMG will only push the activity to offline and illegal offshore channels, which are already causing massive losses to the exchequer and harming society.
Chowdhury of JSA Advocates & Solicitors says a prohibition is unlikely to stop online gaming, as is the case with sports betting. There are fears the Centre's prohibition will, instead, drive players towards illegitimate and predatory offshore platforms, ultimately limiting the government's oversight and exposing Indians to greater harm.
"This is what's always happened when an industry is banned. When there's a blanket ban and there's no regulation, you will always have offline channels grow faster. Muscle power, money power, all of this comes into play," GT Bharat's Jain tells Fortune India.
With the entire gaming industry dealing with a massive policy blow, analysts warn of massive job losses, though the full impact is yet to unfold.
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