PokerBaazi, MPL hit by huge job cuts after real-money gaming ban: Report
The shake-up follows the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, on August 22, which bars real-money gaming. Many operators have since halted paid fantasy and rummy offerings.
India’s online gaming sector is in crisis after new rules this month effectively outlawed real-money skill games, triggering swift layoffs at two prominent firms, media reports read.
According to a report by Moneycontrol, Mobile Premier League (MPL) plans to cut nearly 300 roles, roughly 60% of its India staff. Meanwhile, Nazara Technologies-backed Baazi Games, which runs PokerBaazi, is reportedly eliminating more than 200 positions—nearly 45% of its workforce—as it restructures in response to the ban.
The shake-up follows the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, on August 22, which bars real-money gaming. Many operators have since halted paid fantasy and rummy offerings.
In an internal note, as seen by Reuters, MPL CEO Sai Srinivas warned that the changes would wipe out the company's near-term revenue from India. "We are committed to providing those impacted with every possible support during this transition period ... India accounted for 50% of M-League's revenues and this change would mean that we would no longer be making any revenue from India in the near future," he said, as reported by Reuters.
Separately, Nazara Technologies—which had been buying stakes in Moonshine Technology, the operator of PokerBaazi—said on Monday that the new law constituted a material adverse event under its share-purchase agreements and issued a termination notice tied to the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Dream11 said it has lost nearly 95% of its revenue overnight after the government’s sweeping ban on real-money gaming. But instead of scaling back, the company insisted it would rebuild from scratch, without laying off employees.
“Dream11 has always followed and will continue to follow the law—in letter and spirit,” the company said in a statement. “While this change in law has resulted in a loss of approximately 95% of our group’s revenue, we remain committed to building a great Indian sports company, driven by AI and the creator economy.”
Fantasy sports, rummy, poker, and other cash-based games have been forced offline, pushing industry leaders into survival mode. Paytm First Games has shuttered its real-money operations; Gameskraft has halted deposits and gameplay across its rummy platforms, stressing “compliance has always been non-negotiable.”
Others, like Zupee, MPL, and Junglee Games, have issued similar shutdown notices.
Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, is plotting a pivot. The group is shifting attention to its wider portfolio of sports and technology ventures. Similarly, gaming platform WinZO has entered the United States market with its short video content format, following its entry into Brazil in 2023.
Edited by Suman Singh