Game Changer

ANKIT PANTH HAS HIS DAILY ROUTINE scheduled to a tee. The mornings are for himself when he goes on long runs with his recently adopted pet dog, followed by gym work outs and then time spent editing videos that he will put up later on his social media channels. “But at 2PM sharp, I always log in. And I stay right up to 8PM,” he says.

Panth, more popularly known as V3nom in In­dia’s gaming circles, is a gaming influencer and streamer. Among the earliest batch of profes­sional gamers who came of age in India’s gaming parlours and internet cafés in the late 1990s and 2000s, Panth was considered one of the top play­ers of first-person shooter games like Counter Strike and Valorant in the country. But about two years ago, just as the world of esports, especially around mobile gaming, began to take off in the country, Panth quit playing professionally and switched to streaming his games on YouTube and Twitch. It was a more comfortable—and equally remunerative—career choice, with his followers paying to support and watch Panth’s streams and to participate in his various engage­ment activities, apart from his earlier sponsors continuing to stick with him for the eyeballs he was now generating online.

Occasionally, he has tended to overdo his streams, playing for around 13 hours at a stretch. Marathon sessions are not uncommon for streamers but Panth usually avoids them. Marathon sessions are not uncommon for streamers but Panth usually avoided them. “I am 36. But I’ve never had any back or wrist issues. That’s because I’ve always taken care of myself,” he says. He has also avoided getting into streaming mobile games—such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI, a new version of the still-banned PUBG), even though it is far more lucrative given the size of its following—preferring to stick to PC and console games that he was best known for.

The world of esports has exploded into the mainstream in recent years in India. Gam­ers like Panth have gripped the imagination of the young, and an ecosystem with mul­tiple competitions, talented players and teams, TV broadcasts and online streaming has come to life. But in the larger public consciousness, it has been unable to establish itself as a legitimate sport, separate from other forms like real money gaming (RMG).

“I mean even now esports is lumped together with real money games and all other types of social games. A teacher or a mother isn’t seeing it as a type of sport, one which needs discipline and effort, but as just another game that isn’t good for their ward,” Panth says.

This, it is widely expected, will now change with the passing of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. While this piece of legislation aims to “completely ban real-money online games”, including fantasy sports, poker, rummy, and lotteries—regardless of whether they were skill or chance-based— it also gives a push to esports for the first time. Officially recognising it as a form of competitive sport, the government is now expected to provide “positive incentives for esports, social, and educational games”.

“The biggest impact is clarity and legiti­macy. For years, esports in India was often misunderstood and wrongly grouped with online money games, which cre­ated hesitation among investors, brands, and even parents. This clarity removes longstanding ambiguity and will unlock brand confidence, government support, and institutional partnerships, paving the way for structured growth,” says Akshat Rathee, the co-founder and manag­ing director of NODWIN Gaming, one of the largest esports and gaming firms in In­dia. “We expect to see more largescale tour­naments, stronger grassroots programmes, and educational institutions adopting es­ports, much like traditional sports. This pol­icy shift strengthens investor confidence and ensures that the long-term growth story of Indian esports is now de-risked in the eyes of global stakeholders,” he adds.

But even as esports gets a boost, by ban­ning the RMG sector of online gaming the new Bill has effectively killed the primary factor in the explosive growth of the on­line gaming market over the last decade. The entire market is estimated to have been worth between $3.6 and $3.8 billion by late 2024, with a robust growth of 19.6 per cent from the previous year, accord­ing to a WinZO Business Report. Some forecasts even indicated that the market would breach $9.1 billion in 2029. RMG, believed to comprise 85 per cent of the to­tal revenue generated in this industry, is said to have been the primary driver of this market. The RMG sector became a magnet for investments in recent years—$2.78 bil­lion flowed in through venture capital, with platforms like Dream11, MPL and Games24x7 rising to unicorn status. The government collected ₹20,000 crore annually in taxes, while 200,000-400,000 jobs were sustained across the ecosystem.

However, according to the govern­ment, there was a flip side—financial distress, mental health crises, increased cases of gaming addiction, and even sui­cides. While the ban might have appeared to have come out of the blue, concerns over the ill effects had been building for a while. As early as December 10, 2021, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) sent out a special advisory to parents and teachers warning them of the harmful ef­fects of online gaming on children: “Play­ing online games leads to a serious gaming addiction which has been considered as a gaming disorder. The game is designed in a way that each level is more compli­cated and complex than the previous one. This causes a player to push themselves to the limit in order to progress in the game. Therefore, playing online games with no restrictions and self-limits leads many players to become addicted and are eventually diagnosed with gaming disor­der. The gaming companies also emotion­ally compel the child to buy more levels and almost force in-app purchases.”

This year, on July 21, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) summoned Google and Meta for questioning, accusing them of pro­moting online betting apps under investi­gation for money laundering and other financial crimes. A vast network of online betting apps has been under investigation by the agency for allegedly generating illicit funds worth crores of rupees, often routed through complex hawala channels to avoid detection. The Mahadev Betting App stands out, with a scam estimated to exceed ₹6,000 crore. Another case pertains to the Fairplay IPL betting app, which ille­gally streamed IPL matches and facilitated unauthorised online betting, causing sig­nificant revenue losses to Viacom18, the official broadcaster.

RMG usage was spread across demog­raphies. According to sources, the Indian gaming universe has approximately 41 per cent female gamers, and women spend more time playing (11.2 hrs/week) than men (10.2 hrs/week), preferring casu­al/strategy games. Also, a high 66 per cent of gamers reportedly hail from non-metro areas where mobile gaming dominates due to affordability and access.

IT IS AGAINST this backdrop that the government introduced the Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parlia­ment banning real-money online games regardless of whether they were skill or chance-based. On August 22, a day after it was cleared by Rajya Sabha, President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent.

The legislation is sweeping in its reach—up to three years in prison and/ or ₹1 crore fine for offering or facilitat­ing transactions; up to two years im­prisonment and/or ₹50 lakh fine for advertising; and, repeat offences attract three to five years of jail and fines up to ₹2 crore. Additionally, the Bill proposes a National Gaming Authority (or Online Gaming Authority) to register and classify games, issue compliance codes, monitor platforms, resolve disputes, and suspend noncompliant entities.

Shocked by the suddenness of it, major gaming platforms, including Dream11, PokerBaazi, Mobile Premier League, halted their RMG features following the Bill’s pas­sage. Stock markets responded swiftly. Naz­ara Tech, for example, saw its shares plum­met by double digits across two sessions.

PokerBaazi ceased all RMG services. In an official release, it said: “With a very heavy heart, we announce that Poker­Baazi will be pausing its operations in compliance with The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. Effective immediately, no real money games will be offered on our platform.”

Gaming startup WinZO, launched in 2018 and which claims to have built a community of 250 million users, has also rolled back its RMG offerings.

Social media platform Hike, too, is shutting down operations for its gaming platform ‘Rush’ in India and moving to the US. Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder and CEO of Hike, posted about the development on LinkedIn: “The government of India has made its stance clear: real money gaming will not be allowed. Years of regulatory am­biguity followed by a bill rushed through to ban all RMG—without industry consulta­tion. The message is loud and clear.”

Dream11, which launched fantasy sports in India and gained unicorn status, was at its peak valued at $8 billion and even became the official sponsor of the Indian cricket team. Following the ban, it posted on X: “We have always been and always will be a law-abiding company, and have conducted our business in compliance with the laws. 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’.”

With the ban on real money online games, projected tax revenues ranging from ₹17,000–20,000 crore annually are now at risk, advertisement budgets (₹6,000-17,000 crore) may vanish, and ₹25,000 crore in FDI is reportedly threat­ened. Over 400 startups face likely closure, and 200,000-plus jobs are in jeopardy.

Industry associations—All India Gam­ing Federation (AIGF), E-Gaming Federa­tion, and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports—wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah urging a more balanced solution. They warned a blanket ban would drive users offshore or to illegal markets, hurt revenue, taxation, and jobs, and undermine India’s $1 trillion digital economy vision.

Open learns that offshore gaming platforms are already witnessing a boom following the ban. Betting platforms like 1XBet, Rajabets, Parimatch and Odds96 boast of deposit bonuses from 200 per cent to 700 per cent on amounts ranging from ₹30,000 to ₹1 lakh. A user can deposit ₹100 and get credit up to ₹200 to ₹700. Ad­ditionally, cybercrime poses a real threat as gamers are targeted with fake refund links and phishing scams.

The industry bodies have also sought an opportunity to present their case. “The Bill, if enacted, will cause serious harm and drive players into the hands of fly-by-night operators,” AIGF said, urging the government to adopt a framework that protects players, ensures responsible gam­ing, and fosters innovation, rather than pushing the industry underground.

Some industry leaders are also explor­ing high court challenges, arguing that skill-based games were unfairly lumped with gambling. Speaking to a media outlet, technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta, said, “Games of skill enjoy con­stitutional protection under Article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution and multiple high courts have ruled that a complete prohibi­tion is illegal and unconstitutional.”

Various Indian courts have also held blanket bans on online skilled gaming to be a violation of Articles 14 and 19(1)(a), industry experts point out. Legal bans also rarely stop demand. Past experiences show how underground apps continue to proliferate via Telegram groups, Android Package Kits (APK), and unregulated channels, exposing users to scams and device vulnerabilities.

In 2020, the Andhra Pradesh Gaming (Amendment) Act criminalised online betting. The law empowered police to ar­rest individuals for promoting or partici­pating in online betting. But technology outpaced enforcement. With betting apps not available on Google Play Store owing to policy violations, developers distrib­uted APK files via Telegram, WhatsApp, YouTube video descriptions, pop-up web­sites and even pirated movie streaming platforms. So, youths across Andhra Pradesh, despite the ban, were drawn into betting via apps linked to cricket matches, virtual casinos, teen patti or fantasy sports.

Supporters of the ban frame it as a necessary step to protect vulnerable populations—addicted youth, individu­als trapped in debt, and families impacted by compulsive gaming. The government states that the move is akin to a response against drugs, emphasising “public health and safety over profits”. Some suggest a regulatory framework—like licensing, taxation, and ad restrictions— similar to those used for alcohol or tobac­co would strike a fair balance. It would allow revenue generation, oversight, and consumer protection. The government has balanced the ban on money games with positive incentives for esports. The sports ministry will be overseeing training acad­emies, tournaments, research centres, and policy integration for them.

Recognising esports as a sport, NOD­WIN’s Rathee says, will accelerate main­stream acceptance, making it easier for brands to confidently allocate long-term sponsorship budgets. “Non-endemic sec­tors like automobile, FMCG, lifestyle, and tech can now view esports as a safe, future-proof channel to engage with In­dia’s young, digital-first audience. We’ll also see more integrated brand activations inside games, similar to Nike in Fortnite or Monster Energy in Death Stranding,” he says. He points to the hugely popular mobile game BGMI that has already ex­perimented with this in India by bringing in popular cricketers like Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh as in-game charac­ters and having Bollywood tie-ins like Ranveer Singh skins. Brand partnerships became part of gameplay itself.

The esports market had been grow­ing rapidly even before the Bill was introduced. The market is projected to reach $90-100 million by 2028. Much of this growth has been in mobile gaming. Availability of inexpensive phones and wide internet coverage gave games like PUBG and BMGI a big boost.

Sat Mayekar, who leads the marketing division in e-xpress Interactive, a PC and console video game distributor, says that in recent years there has been a big growth in the viewership of gaming tournaments that are telecast and streamed. With that has come sponsorship, new job openings, and the creation of a new ecosystem. “In the next four to five years, all the leading major video game publishers will have their eyes on the Indian market. If they want eyeballs on their games, let it be mobile, PC or con­soles [they will have to be here],” he says.

The esports market grew during the pandemic when games like PUBG gripped the imagination of a new gen­eration of youth. Along with it was born a culture of gaming filled with teams and esports athletes, streamers, gaming content creators, fans and more. “Esports today is not just about competition, it’s about community, culture, and content,” Rathee says. “That’s why its fandom is growing at an unprecedented pace.”

AFTER THE BAN on RMG, leading platforms in the field will have to pivot to esports, casual games, and educational content. New investor interest may also focus on non-monetary gaming models. Advertising budgets and sport endorsements—some involving superstar cricketers—may shift away from gaming. Digital ad ecosystems, es­pecially around IPL and fantasy sports, face reconfiguration.

Already online gaming companies are consulting whether to file petitions indi­vidually or through federations to seek a stay on the implementation of the Bill. However, going by reports, it is unlikely that the federations would be party to these petitions. Open learns Dream11, Gamesk­raft and PokerBaazi parent Moonshine Technology do not intend to challenge the online gaming law in court. The three com­panies are redirecting their focus. Dream11 plans to redeploy 500 of its engineers and other staff across existing businesses like FanCode, DreamSetGo, Dream Game Stu­dios, and Dream Money while also veering towards AI-driven products.

At the time of going to press, Zupee, one of India’s largest online gaming companies, announced that it too will choose compliance over litigation. Zupee founder and CEO Dilsher Singh Malhi told Storyboard 18, “We fully respect the legislative process and remain committed to operating and innovating within the framework of the law while collaborat­ing with policymakers to shape India’s entertainment ecosystem.” Zupee has been a trailblazer of sorts in social gam­ing rooted in India’s cultural heritage and was on the money spearheading online Ludo, which boasts 150 million users. The company’s gaming portfolio also includes Snakes & Ladders and Trump Cards Mania, designed to merge cultural nostalgia with digital innovation.

India’s Online Gaming Bill, 2025, marks a decisive regulatory pivot—from unregulated expansion to a sudden crack­down. This policy choice raises three fundamental questions: Can brittle indus­tries be regulated rather than prohibited? Can addiction be curbed while fostering entrepreneurship? Can esports and safe gaming compensate for the void left by fantasy sports? The outcome of this legis­lation—ongoing litigation, enforcement, and platform adaptation—will shape the trajectory of India’s gaming ecosystem for years to come.

Ashwini Vaishnawbanesports businessPokerBaaziPrakash RajRana Daggubatireal money gamesRMG servicesVijay Deverakonda