The shares of gaming companies extended significant losses on August 25 after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, officially making it a law in India.
Nazara Technologies shares tumbled over 11 percent to trade at Rs 1,026.70 apiece in the morning. Notably, this is the lowest level seen by the stock in over three months. The gaming stock has so far fallen over 26 percent in the past five days, and currently has a P/E ratio of nearly 95.
Delta Corp shares meanwhile dropped around 2 percent to trade at Rs 86.29 apiece. The stock has dropped nearly 6 percent in the past six months, and is down around 23 percent in 2025 so far.
The new law prohibits online money games where a user makes a deposit, directly or indirectly, with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit. Analysts expect that the immediate fallout of the new law would be job losses, the collapse of start-ups, and a sharp drop in foreign and domestic investment. The move threatens to wipe out around 2 lakh jobs, Rs 25,000 crore in foreign direct investment, and Rs 20,000 crore in tax revenues, they say.
The move is set to give a blow to the country's $3.8 billion gaming industry that has drawn the attention of global investors and fostered fantasy sports apps like Dream11, Games24X7 and Mobile Premier League.
The law includes an imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore. It also includes a provision where repeated offences could attract 3-5 years imprisonment and fines up to Rs 2 crore. The proposed legislation also recommends a regulator for e-sports, educational platforms, and social games.
Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw while tabling the bill in Rajya Sabha termed online money games as a 'public health risk". "There are addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Many families have been destroyed," Vaishnaw said. The minister also said that around 45 crore people have been affected, and around Rs 20,000 crore have been lost because of online money games.
Nazara Tech said on August 22 its associate firm, Moonshine Technologies, which operates PokerBaazi and other card-based platforms, has ceased offering online games played with money.
Ananay Jain, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat said that the blanket restrictions on certain real-money games may stifle segments of the gaming market that were previously generating significant revenue, particularly in mobile gaming and tournament-based platforms. "Smaller start-ups and emerging developers may face compliance burdens and financial strain due to penalties and regulatory requirements."
Several real-money gaming (RMG) companies are likely to file writ petitions, as early as possible this week, in 2-3 high courts of the country against the contentious online-gaming Act passed by the Parliament on Thursday, three people directly aware of the matter told Moneycontrol.
Sources say, the companies are having consultations currently to decide whether to file petitions individually or through federations, in order to seek a stay on the implementation of the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025'.
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