India's top real money gaming (RMG) companies, Dream11 parent company Dream Sports, Gameskraft, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Zupee and Nazara-backed PokerBaazi, have begun suspending contests and games involving money on their platforms, shortly after the Indian government's online gaming bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament.
The bill prohibits online money games, which are games where a user makes a deposit, directly or indirectly, with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit.
Dream Sports has paused all 'Pay to Play' contests on Dream Picks, a recently launched fantasy sports app that let users build four-player teams and compete across both innings. The company is also suspending its casual RMG app, Dream Play. Both apps were launched by the fantasy sports major in recent months.
"In view of the recent development pertaining to "The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025", we are pausing all 'Pay to Play' Fantasy Sports contests on our platform. Your account balance is safe and available for you to withdraw from the Dream11 app," according to a notice on the app.
Dream Sports is also planning to suspend paid contests on its flagship Dream11 app once the law is notified following the President's assent, sources told Moneycontrol. The company posted a net profit of Rs 188 crore on operating revenue of Rs 6,384 crore in FY23. Dream Sports declined to comment.
Meanwhile, RMG platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) said it has shutdown all gaming offerings involving money on its platform. "While new deposits will no longer be accepted, customers will be able to withdraw their balances seamlessly," a spokesperson said.
"Our focus was always to be the largest competitive gaming platform in the world irrespective of the business model, and we remain committed to providing competitive, free to play, non-money based gaming experiences to our customers in India. We will keep our community informed about next steps as we complete the shutdown process for online money games," the spokesperson said.
MPL offers over 60 games across categories such as daily fantasy sports, quizzing, board games, puzzle, and casual games on its Android and iOS apps.
"We continue to believe in the India growth story and reaffirm our long-term commitment to the country including the vision of building from India for the world," a spokesperson said.
Moonshine Technology, the parent company of online poker platform PokerBaazi, has "ceased offering real money online gaming operations", Nazara Technologies stated in a stock market disclosure on August 22.
"As a matter of abundant caution and in due respect of the Government’s mandate, Moonshine, an associate company in which Nazara holds a 46.07% stake, has ceased offering real money online gaming operations. The company will evaluate the future course of action following the enactment of the Bill," the diversified gaming and sports media firm said.
Bengaluru-based Gameskraft is also pausing ‘Add Cash’ and ‘Gameplay services’ on its rummy apps, that include RummyCulture. "The withdrawal services continue to remain available in accordance with platform policies. We want to reassure that the users funds continue to be safe with us. This is a precautionary measure to ensure full compliance with the evolving legal framework," a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The bootstrapped company had reported a total profit of Rs 947 crore on operating revenue of Rs 3,475 crore for the financial year FY24.
Zupee, a RMG platform focused on board games, announced on August 21 that it is halting "paid games" on the platform, but "remains fully operational".
"Our hugely popular free titles like Ludo Supreme, Ludo Turbo, Snakes & Ladders, and Trump Card Mania will continue to be available for all users for free. We remain committed to delivering fun, engaging, and responsible gaming and entertainment experiences to our over 150 million users across India for free,” a Zupee spokesperson stated.
Hyderabad-based Head Digital Works has also suspended all money-based games across its portfolio of apps, including A23 Rummy, A23 Poker, and Adda52 Poker. Free-to-play games will continue to be available, the company said on August 22.
"From our inception, we have been a consumer-first company. Player trust is paramount to us. Player deposits continue to be safe with us and can be withdrawn as per the platform's policies. However, no new deposits will be accepted" the company said in a statement.
Opinion trading platform Probo announced on August 21 that it is immediately halting RMG operations.
"As unfortunate as it is, we respect the government of India's latest Online Gaming bill. In light of this development, Probo has decided to discontinue its RMG operations with immediate effect until further notice. We remain steadfast in our vision to innovate and build information markets from India, for the world," a Probo spokesperson said in a statement.
RMG platform WinZO is also withdrawing "all impacted offerings" from August 22, 2025 to comply with the proposed law, the company said on August 22.
"WinZO remains steadfast and united, with the unqualified and absolute support of our partners, investors, and the team. We stay aligned with national goals, move faster, and continue to create value for all stakeholders," the firm said in a statement.
WinZO offers over 100 games in 15 languages developed by third-party game developers from around the world on its platform. The company has over 250 million users.
Games24x7's online rummy app RummyCircle and cricket fantasy app My11Circle has also disabled paid contests and tournaments on the app.
"Cash Games have been discontinued as per the Online Gaming Bill, 2025. Your balance is safe and can ben withdrawn anytime," as per a notice on both the applications.
India's proposed gaming law explicitly prohibits the offering of online money games or RMG apps, with penalties of up to three years of imprisonment or fines of Rs 1 crore for violations.
The RMG industry generated about $2.4 billion in revenue in FY24, accounting for a bulk of the revenues of India's overall gaming industry that stood at $3.8 billion for the year.
Note: The story has been updated to include the suspension of several real-money gaming apps since its original publication.
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