New Delhi, September 3, 2025 – The government’s blanket prohibition on real-money online gaming, now enforced as law, has unleashed a chain reaction across the gaming and fintech landscape. From top gaming brands to major payment platforms, the disruption has been rapid and unprecedented.
Industry in Freefall: Shutdowns & Layoffs
Big Platforms Shutting Doors
Fantasy sports leader Dream11, along with MPL, PokerBaazi, My11Circle, Zupee, WinZO, Probo, Games24x7, GamesKraft, 99Games, KheloFantasy, Adda52, and Paytm First Games, have suspended real-money operations in full compliance with the ban.
Dream11, India’s largest operator in the space, has reportedly lost 95% of its income within days.
Human Impact of Job Cuts
MPL is reducing its workforce by 60% in India, cutting around 300 of 500 positions, according to internal communication.
Both Games24x7 and Baazi Games are downsizing by about half.
Staffing firm CIEL HR says more than 2,000 gaming professionals are actively looking for new roles.
Overall, over 200,000 jobs across 400+ companies are believed to be under direct threat.
One Mumbai employee recalled: “It took me ten years to find some stability. Now explaining this sudden uncertainty to my family feels impossible.”
Economic Shockwaves
Industry groups predict an annual loss of nearly ₹20,000 crore in GST and tax revenues.
The broader ecosystem of advertising agencies, tech vendors, and content creators is also staring at major downturns.
Foreign direct investment valued at up to ₹25,000 crore could be withdrawn or paused.
Sky8Pay’s Sudden Collapse & Reinvention
Sky8Pay, once the largest payment processor for real-money gaming, managed as much as ₹200 crore worth of daily transactions at its peak. With the ban wiping out its core volumes, the company has axed 80% of its workforce, falling from 450 to just 100 employees. The gateway is fully owned by Streamline Money.
Its CEO, Rishi Wadhwa, summed up the crisis:
“Within two weeks, our transaction volumes for RMG shrank from record levels to almost nothing. We once handled ₹200 crore daily for regulated operators. The ban has left us no choice but to cut 80% of our team and reposition as a Transaction Service Provider working with banks to detect and block questionable gaming transactions, while ensuring genuine payments are safe. It’s a painful but necessary shift.”
Sky8Pay will now work with banks as a TSP, focusing on transaction monitoring and blocking suspicious flows linked to real-money gaming.
The company has also ended all gaming-related processing, shifting attention to clients in utilities, education technology, and e-commerce marketplaces.
Payments, Banks & Fintech Under Stress
For many payment processors, real-money gaming accounted for 15–20% of total volumes, and for some, up to 40–50%.
Gateways like Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, Paytm, Easebuzz, and PhonePe are reworking their business models to fill the gap.
Razorpay and Cashfree state they remain relatively unaffected due to diversified client bases.
Yes Bank, however, faces the largest risk, with reports suggesting it routed 60% of real-money gaming flows through its nodal accounts.
Analysts warn that activity may migrate to illegal offshore platforms or crypto channels, creating fresh compliance and enforcement challenges.
The Law, Penalties & Resistance
What the Bill States
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, cleared by Parliament in late August and signed into law around August 22, prohibits all forms of real-money online gaming, whether based on skill or chance.
Operators and facilitators now risk up to three years imprisonment and fines of ₹1 crore.
Advertising violations can result in two years jail time and fines of up to ₹50 lakh, with stricter non-bailable penalties for repeat offenders.
Banks and payment processors are also held accountable if they knowingly process or route such transactions.
Pushback from the Industry
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and other associations wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah, warning of ₹20,000–23,000 crore in lost revenue and jobs each year, while highlighting risks of users shifting to illegal networks.
Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge denounced the move as shortsighted, citing threats to jobs, innovation, and national security.
Gaming startup A23 has filed the first court challenge in Karnataka High Court, arguing that including skill-based games in the ban violates constitutional rights.
Banks & Fintech Strategy Meet – August 29
On August 29, leading banks and fintechs met to discuss enforcement of the new law. The agenda covered transaction monitoring frameworks, compliance upgrades, and methods for flagging or blocking questionable gaming payments.
Executives from leading gateways and banking partners were present, building consensus for a transition to TSP-driven oversight led by firms like Sky8Pay.
Kerala’s Move: Tax Clarity Without Conflict
Kerala has issued an Ordinance amending its State GST Act to clearly define tax liabilities on online gaming, gambling, and horse racing. This step seeks to end ambiguity around GST collection but does not challenge the national prohibition itself.
Outlook
In a matter of weeks, the real-money gaming ban has overturned India’s digital economy. Giants such as MPL and Dream11 are shedding hundreds of jobs, while Sky8Pay—the central hub for payments—has cut 80% of its staff and is remaking itself as a TSP.
Payment processors and fintech platforms are now forced to recalibrate, as regulators tighten compliance and risks mount.
The law is stringent, yet opposition is mounting through petitions, legal battles, and state-level clarifications. For India’s gaming and fintech sectors, the future remains deeply uncertain.
Continued Government Engagement
On September 1, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a meeting with industry stakeholders, emphasizing the need to protect consumer money and ensure a smooth transition to the new regime. Officials have also suggested they may review amendments to clarify boundaries and address specific edge cases.
