A23 owner Head Digital Works cuts around 500 jobs after govt's real-money gaming ban

Layoffs

Head Digital Works, which operates the online rummy platform A23 Rummy, has laid off nearly 500 employees, representing over two-thirds of its workforce, making it the latest casualty of the Indian government’s blanket ban on real-money games.

Following these job cuts, around 200 employees remain at the Hyderabad-based company. Head Digital Works CEO Siddharth Sharma has confirmed this to Moneycontrol.

"At Head Digital Works, our people have been central to our growth, and it was with careful consideration that we decided to let go of a significant part of our workforce. We will ensure that this transition is handled with responsibility, providing meaningful severance and support to those impacted, and we remain grateful for their contributions," Sharma said.

"While recent regulatory changes necessitated this step, we are confident that a balanced framework will evolve, and we remain committed to building a resilient future and exploring new opportunities for the company," he added.

Sharma said majority of the employees will receive a minimum of three months' severance pay, with longer-serving employees receiving six to nine months' pay.

With this move, Head Digital Works joins a growing list of real-money gaming companies that have carried out large-scale layoffs in the past week, as the industry grapples with the fallout of the ban.

Mobile Premier League (MPL) is significantly downsizing its India team, with sources saying it could lay off around 60 to 80 percent of its workforce, which currently numbers about 500 to 600 employees, Moneycontrol reported last week.

Nazara Technologies-backed Baazi Games (Moonshine Technology), which operates the online poker platform PokerBaazi, is also reducing its workforce by over 200 people, representing nearly 45 percent of its employees, Moneycontrol reported on September 1.

Games24x7, which operates the online rummy platform Rummy Circle and fantasy sports platform My11Circle, has also conducted layoffs at the company. Storyboard18 earlier reported about layoffs at Head Digital Works.

Last week, Head Digital Works had approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the government’s new online gaming law. This was the first legal challenge to the legislation that was cleared by Parliament on August 22.

Subsequently, two other real-money gaming operators have challenged the Act in Delhi High Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court respectively.

The Centre has now moved the Supreme Court, seeking a transfer of these petitions to either one of the High Courts or the apex court itself.

Head Digital Works, which is majority-owned by Canadian private equity firm Clairvest, operates platforms such as A23 Rummy, A23 Poker, and Cricket.com. The company claims to have 70 million registered users across platforms.

In February, the Hyderabad-based firm acquired Deltatech Gaming, the real-money gaming unit of the casino and hospitality giant Delta Corp, for around Rs 491 crore in a cash-and-stock deal. Deltatech Gaming operates Adda52, one of India's oldest online poker platforms.