Shutdowns in the real money gaming (RMG) sector continued on Friday, with WinZO, Head Digital Works and PokerBaazi announcing the closure of their paid gaming operations.
New Law and Its Immediate Impact
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which was earlier passed by both Houses of Parliament, received the Presidential assent on Friday. It imposes a blanket ban on all real money gaming, regardless of whether the games are based on skill or chance.
WinZO, which has over 250 million users and hosts 100+ games in 15 languages, said it was “responsibly withdrawing impacted offerings effective August 2025 in compliance with the new law. The platform which positioned itself as an “alternative to app-store monopolies” has attracted global investors, including Kalaari Capital, Griffin Gaming Partners, and Steve Pagliuca, co-chair of Bain Capital and owner of the Boston Celtics.
“As second-time entrepreneurs, having earlier founded Zostel, now Asia’s largest backpacker chain, we have lived through defining challenges: the pandemic, taxation shocks, and regulatory shifts,” WinZO’s founders stated. “Each time, our philosophy has been the same: adapt, innovate, and emerge stronger.”
Pivot to a New Business Model
Head Digital Works, which operates poker and rummy platforms A23 Rummy, A23 Poker, and Adda52 Poker, also announced immediate closure of all money games. “Player deposits continue to be safe with us and can be withdrawn as per the platform’s policies.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 stated. The company clarified that winnings can be withdrawn anytime to verified bank accounts, while any unused deposits will be transferred to users’ winnings balance. Free-to-play games offered by the firm like carrom and pool that can be downloaded and played without staking real money will continue to be available.
Meanwhile, Nazara Technologies informed the stock exchanges that Moonshine Technologies, which operates PokerBaazi, an associate firm 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,” Nazara stated in its exchange filing. The listed firm’s $122-million investment in PokerBaazi stands to be written down or provisioned for now, CEO Nitish Mittersain had told Bloomberg on Thursday.
The latest developments follow similar announcements by Dream11, MPL, Probo, and Zupee, which also announced the shutdown of real money gaming operations on Thursday.
Industry observers note that while these platforms are pivoting to maintain their non-RMG operations, the loss of RMG which typically contributed the majority of revenues for such platforms presents significant challenges for their business models and employment levels going forward.