Online Gaming Bill: Kavin Bharti Mittal's Rush to exit India following government’s proposed RMG ban

Kavin Bharti Mittal

Rush, a casual real-money gaming (RMG) platform from Bharti Airtel scion Kavin Bharti Mittal's Hike, is exiting India to focus entirely on the United States and other global markets like the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, Mittal said on August 21.

This move comes shortly after the Indian government's online gaming bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament on August 21.

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.

Mittal told Moneycontrol that most of the team has been working on the US opportunity since January. "India team now joins. Lots of work to be done. We will accelerate all our crypto and token plans," he said.

He added that Rush operates as a set of 'SWAT teams' globally across India, the United States, Dubai, Singapore, and that there will be no changes for employees. The company has around 100 employees. In a business context, SWAT teams is a term often used for small, highly skilled, and agile teams that quickly solves urgent or complex problems.

Explaining the rationale for this decision in a post on the newsletter platform Substack, Mittal said "The Govt of India has made its position clear: RMG will not be allowed. Through GST hikes (rumoured now at 40%), regulatory ambiguity, and most recently, a bill rushed through to ban all RMG — without industry consultation — the message is loud and clear."

He shared his disappointment, saying the setback was not just for his company but also for the entrepreneurs, developers, and teams who had 'poured their hearts and billions of dollars into building the sector'

"We understand and respect the government’s decision to take a moral stance on what it believes to be right for society...What we do wish is that this decision had been made sooner, with clearer communication. That would have saved billions in investment and avoided leaving the industry in regulatory limbo for years," he said.

'US offers a more stable regulatory environment'

Mittal noted that the company had faced similar headwinds before, pointing to India’s reluctance to embrace crypto as an early signal. "For years, the promise of Web3 ownership — the very foundation of what we’re building — has remained uncertain here," he said.

In contrast, he highlighted that the United States is making 'encouraging moves toward regulatory clarity' and provides a more stable regulatory environment.

"The Genius Act for stablecoins has already passed, and the Clarity Act for tokens is on the horizon. Together, they create one of the most exciting environments in the world to build in Web3," Mittal said.

"Our vision isn’t just about games — it’s about building a new kind of network business where users don’t just participate, but actually own a piece of what they help build," he added.

Mittal noted that the United States also offers new business models beyond RMG, including advertising and virtual goods, which he said are multi-billion-dollar categories with much higher consumer spending than in India.

"This step feels like a weight lifted off our shoulders. Instead of living in uncertainty, we can now go all-in on the biggest, most exciting part of our vision: building the world's first true Gaming Nation," Mittal said in the post.

Hike originally started as a messaging app in 2012 to take on the market leader WhatsApp, but later shut it down in January 2021. Subsequently, the company started building a casual RMG platform called Rush. It featured 14 money-based mobile games and incorporated Web3 technologies that enable user ownership and play-to-earn mechanics.

Hike is backed by investors such as SoftBank, Tencent, Tiger Global, Bharti, Foxconn, Jump Crypto, Tribe Capital, Republic, and Polygon. Individuals such as former SoftBank Vision Fund co-chief Rajeev Misra, prolific venture investor Elad Gil, and Zynga founder Mark Pincus are also among its investors.

Mittal stated that Rush scaled to over $500 million in gross revenue in four years in India. Rush stated that it has over 5 million players across 14 skill-based mobile games and have earned $480 million in winnings every year.

Early product metrics in global markets already show 10 times higher ARPU, double the retention, and a superior ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), he said. In the future, Rush also plans to expand to Australia, and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.

Earlier on August 21, Moneycontrol reported that India's top RMG companies, including Dream11 parent company Dream Sports, Gameskraft, Mobile Premier League (MPL), and Zupee, have begun suspending contests and games involving money on their platforms.

Many platforms described the step as a 'precautionary measure' to ensure compliance 'with the evolving legal framework' while continuing to offer free titles to consumers.