MPL to significantly downsize its India workforce after govt's real-money gaming ban

Layoffs

Gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) is significantly downsizing its India team after the government imposed a blanket ban on real-money games, co-founder Sai Srinivas told employees in an internal memo. Moneycontrol has viewed a copy of the memo.

Sources said MPL could lay off around 60 to 80 percent of its India workforce, which currently stands at around 500 to 600 employees. The layoffs will affect teams across policy, marketing, finance, operations, engineering, and legal. Moneycontrol has written to MPL for comments and will update once we hear back.

India's new online gaming law prohibits online money games, where a user makes a deposit, directly or indirectly, with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit.

After Parliament gave its nod to the bill on August 22, real-money gaming companies, including MPL, suspended contests and games involving money on their platforms, though they continue to offer free-to-play options.

"As a group, India accounted for 50 percent 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," Srinivas said in the memo. M-League is the parent firm of MPL.

"While this is a big setback - it doesn't change our mission. It does mean that we need to work hard to find a new business model for MPL in India. Shubh, myself and the rest of the leadership team are committed to achieve the same," he said.

Srinivas said they are committed to provide impacted employees with "every possible support during this transition period". Reuters earlier reported on MPL’s plan to lay off employees.

Last month, Moneycontrol reported that MPL does not plan to challenge the government's ban on real-money games. The company has also advised the industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), of which it is a member, not to pursue a legal challenge and instead focus on free-to-play games, sources said.

In the memo, Srinivas said "while some companies have preferred to challenge the ban, we believe any relief from the Courts will only materialize, if at all, after a long drawn process where we will continue to be in limbo for months, if not years."

"Any such relief is also not a guarantee of viability of the business in India. At the end of the day, if the popular will is that a certain business model is not encouraged in India, we believe the best course of action is to accept that and build forward," he added.

Along with MPL, a number of companies including Dream11 parent Dream Sports, Gameskraft, Zupee, and PokerBaazi parent firm Moonshine Technology, have decided not to challenge the law. Head Digital Works, which operates the online rummy platform A23 Rummy, has however moved the Karnataka High Court against the law. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for September 8.

Started in 2018 by Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra, MPL offers more than 60 free-to-play games across categories such as board games, card games, puzzle, and casual games on its Android and iOS apps. The company claims to have more than 90 million registered users across Asia, Europe, and North America.

MPL was last valued at $2.3 billion after raising $150 million in September 2021, which also marked its entry into the unicorn club. Among its investors include Peak XV (previously Sequoia India) and RTP Global.

The Bengaluru-based company also owns GameDuell, an European card and board game studio. In addition, it incubated a mobile gaming studio Mayhem Studios in 2022.

Mayhem Studios subsequently raised about $20 million from investors such as Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Truecaller and Hashed Emergent in 2023. It also bagged funding from Lumikai, a gaming and interactive media-focused venture fund, in July 2024.

For the financial year 2023-24, M-League's revenue went up 22 percent to $130 million. It also achieved break even with an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $0.2 million.

The company has a presence in North America, Africa, and Europe, in addition to India. About 31 percent of the firm's revenues in FY24 came from international markets.

MPL had earlier laid off 350 employees in August 2023, following the GST Council's recommendation to impose a 28 percent tax on deposits in real-money games, with no distinction made between game of skill and chance. The tax regime was implemented in October 2023.