How the Online Betting Ban in India is Reshaping Gaming, Sports, Jobs and Player Endorsements?

The Indian government’s decision to ban money-based online gaming under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, marks one of the most significant regulatory changes in the country’s digital economy. The law received presidential assent on August 22, 2025 and came into force immediately.

For the gambling industry, a major shift has come with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act whose purpose is to curb gambling addiction, prevent money laundering, and protect consumers. In practice, the ban is reshaping a multi-billion-dollar industry, affecting operators, employees, advertisers, sports bodies, and even some of India’s best-known cricketers.

The Act defines “online money games” as digital games in which users stake money, pay entry fees, or expect financial rewards. This definition effectively covers fantasy sports, online rummy, poker, and other real-money contests. .

The legislation imposes criminal penalties: operators can be fined up to one crore rupees or serve three years in prison; while advertisers can face up to two years in prison, and financial institutions allowing transactions can receive the same penalties. These offenses are classified as cognizable, non-bailable offenses, giving police the authority to arrest without a warrant.

What makes this framework stricter than the prior restrictions at the state level is that it eliminates the discrimination between skill-based games and chance-based games. Courts had previously recognized that skill-based games, like rummy or fantasy sports, were real commercial businesses.

The new law disregards that precedent and deems all money-staked games as gambling. The Act also creates a National Online Gaming Commission, which will investigate and then license gaming entities.

Operators in Survival Mode

The ban triggered immediate disruptions, with leading platforms halting operations and announcing drastic cost-cutting measures.

• Within days of the ban, Mobile Premier League (MPL) halted all money-based contests and announced plans to cut about 60 percent of its Indian workforce, roughly 300 employees, with leadership telling staff they would no longer generate revenue in India under the new regime.

• Dream11, valued at around $8 billion, , while Flutter Entertainment shut down Junglee Rummy effective August 22, 2025, projecting a $200 million revenue loss and $50 million EBITDA hit for the year.

• Gameskraft, one of India’s largest real-money gaming startups, announced plans to lay off around 120 employees following the government’s ban, according to Moneycontrol. The Bengaluru-based company was already facing challenges due to an ongoing investigation into alleged GST evasion and a fraud scandal involving its former CFO.

Industry insiders suggest some firms may pivot to free-to-play models or non-cash rewards, while others are preparing legal battles claiming the law unfairly criminalizes skill-based games previously upheld by Indian courts.

Jobs and Investments on the Line

The fallout is not limited to platforms. MPL’s layoffs alone affected hundreds of workers across engineering, operations, and marketing. R. This comes on top of the disruption to India’s fast-growing gaming startup ecosystem, which had attracted significant domestic and foreign investment.

India’s real-money gaming industry was valued at $3.7 billion in 2024 and projected to double to $9.1 billion by 2029. The new ban strikes at the heart of this growth, particularly in cricket, where platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle dominated sponsorships.

Venture capital firms, leading conglomerates, and international companies had already invested millions in constructing products, esports platforms, and fantasy sports leagues. The ban has generated immediate uncertainty for these investors, who will now have to consider valuations and exit strategies.

The industry was also a growing source of tax income. Real-money platforms paid 28 percent GST on entry fees, while winnings were subject to income tax. Estimates placed the government’s annual take from this sector at close to ₹20,000 crore. With operations halted, that revenue stream is drying up.

The sponsorship market tied to gaming is also shrinking. Dream11’s ₹358 crore jersey deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been terminated. Cricket boards and leagues that relied heavily on fantasy gaming partnerships are now under pressure to fill the financial gap. .

Few industries outside of gaming itself are feeling the pinch as much as sports. For nearly a decade, online fantasy platforms were among the biggest sponsors of Indian cricket and emerging leagues in football, kabaddi, and basketball. Dream11 had not only sponsored the national cricket team but was also a title partner for the Indian Premier League.

Star Players to Face Big Losses

The ban has also hit cricketers and former players who were front-facing promoters of online gaming apps. Many active stars had lucrative deals with platforms like Dream11, MPL, My11Circle, and A23.

• The Indian Express reported that leading cricketers, including Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya, collectively lost endorsement contracts worth over ₹200 crore as gaming companies suspended campaigns.

• At the top of the list are big names like Virat Kohli, who makes around 10 to 12 crore each year from his contract with MPL. Close behind him are Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who earn about 6 to 7 crore annually through their deals with Dream11 and Winzo.
• Former players such as Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, who frequently appeared in promotions for fantasy platforms, are also affected. Ganguly was a prominent brand ambassador for My11Circle, while Sehwag regularly endorsed rummy and fantasy cricket platforms.
• Analysts from Storyboard18 estimate that top Indian players could see their annual endorsement earnings fall by 10 to 15 percent because gaming companies had become some of the most aggressive sponsors in the market.
• For ex-players, these deals were among their most visible revenue streams in retirement, and their suspension has created an immediate gap.

This impact extends beyond individual earnings. Celebrity endorsements had been one of the main tools gaming platforms used to build trust with consumers. With contracts scrapped, both players and companies lose a key marketing channel.

Teams and Other Country Cricket Boards Face Tough Time

The Indian Premier League is among the worst affected, with franchises losing front-of-shirt sponsorships from banned gaming firms. My11Circle’s annual deal worth approximately $15 million has been terminated, and teams such as Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, and Sunrisers Hyderabad must now find new partners before the 2026 season.

Fantasy gaming previously contributed up to 40 percent of IPL advertising revenues, and its removal threatens to reduce both team sponsorship income and broadcaster earnings tied to cricket’s most valuable property.

Consumers Shift to Riskier Platforms

For users, the change is equally disruptive. Millions of Indians who regularly played fantasy contests or card games with money are left without legal options. Reports suggest many have already begun accessing offshore websites through VPNs. These foreign sites fall outside Indian jurisdiction, making enforcement difficult and exposing players to risks of fraud and data theft.

Industry analysts caution that prohibition may push users into an unregulated black market, similar to what has occurred in countries with strict gambling bans. Once players move to offshore apps, consumer protections such as grievance redressal or financial recourse disappear. This could increase incidents of scams and make users vulnerable to money laundering networks.

Legal Fights Take Center Stage

The legal fight was quickly to court. A23, a well-known rummy and poker platform, has applied in the Karnataka High Court asserting that the prohibition is unconstitutional as it interferes with their right to conduct a legal enterprise. They claim skill-based gaming should not be classified as gambling. In this claim they contend that the prohibition nullifies a long-standing judicial principle without justification.

Other companies are also likely to file similar petitions in various states. Legal analysts think the Supreme Court will eventually consolidate the cases and rule on the constitutionality of the law. For now, in the interim, the industry is at a standstill, unable to operate but not willing to vacate the market.

Can the Ban Be Enforced?

Even with the law in effect, ban on the platforms nationwide is not straightforward due to the technical challenge. Enforcing the ban would require regulators to work with telecom companies to block websites and apps, as well as financial institutions and payment services to prevent the movement of money. Even then, the offshore site , crypto payments, and the use of international servers.

This raises the question of whether prohibition can truly stamp out online betting or if it will simply drive it underground. Enforcement agencies already struggle with illegal betting apps distributed via Telegram and WhatsApp groups in states that had local bans before. Experts warn that a similar cycle could now play out at the national level.

In the interim, companies like Dream11 are already finding ways to pivot, as it has been facilitated through advertising revenue and other non-cash contests. The industry would maintain that regulation, rather than prohibition, is better for consumers and the economy overall. But the law is the law, and for now, we have one of the largest forced exits of a market, in the history of digital India.