After $200M buyout, Flutter forced to hit pause on Junglee Rummy, Howzat
In July, Flutter Entertainment wrote a fresh cheque of $67 million to complete its acquisition of Junglee, valuing the company at more than $440 million.
After PokerBaazi and A23 Rummy, Junglee Games, among India’s biggest online rummy operators, has halted deposits and cash games in compliance with the government’s industry-wide ban on real-money gaming.
While the firm has paused real-money games, it continues to host free-to-play games.
The move comes barely two months after Flutter Entertainment, the Dublin-headquartered betting and gaming giant valued at around $50 billion, wrote a fresh cheque of $67 million to complete its acquisition of Junglee, valuing the company at more than $440 million, as per rough calculations.
Flutter has already spent over $200 million to buy out Junglee Games, which runs titles such as Howzatt, Junglee Rummy, and Junglee Poker, according to regulatory filings. The investment was seen as a bet on India’s rapidly growing real-money gaming market, with Junglee contributing $123 million in revenue in 2022, up from $69 million a year earlier.
Junglee Rummy app now shows a notification informing players that starting August 22, deposits and cash games will be paused, though withdrawals will still be allowed. Similarly, Howzat’s website shows a notice citing the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, stating that all cash games and contests on the platform have been stopped in compliance with the new law.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 has forced platforms, including Junglee, Zupee, MPL, Probo, WinZO, and Dream11’s real-money vertical to switch off their core offerings overnight.
Dream11, Gameskraft and others are preparing to challenge the government’s sweeping ban in court, according to a report by NDTV Profit. A writ petition could be filed in the Karnataka High Court as early as next week, the report said, citing sources.
While it is not certain whether Flutter Entertainment will join the lawsuit, the company is already entangled in a parallel legal battle over taxes in India. Its subsidiaries, Junglee and PokerStars India, have been issued GST notices alleging underpayment, with claims totalling $2.3 billion. The cases against both subsidiaries have been clubbed, with the wider industry dispute now before the Supreme Court, which has stayed further action.
Flutter has maintained that it has complied with the law by treating its games as “skill-based”.
Edited by Kanishk Singh