Gaming ban in India and human toll: Jobless in a single day, however households to feed

On August 20, staff at certainly one of India’s largest real-money gaming firms swiped into their workplace in Delhi NCR. But nobody was working. “The usual buzz was gone, and nobody opened their laptops. Just groups of colleagues huddled together, discussing what would happen next. To be explicitly told to look for other opportunities is the worst feeling in one’s career,” Saurav Mathur (identify modified), a advertising skilled with Paytm First Games, informed India Today Digital.

The concern of shedding their jobs and the anxiousness of job searching from a sector worn out in a single day weighed on everybody’s minds. These are individuals with households to assist, house and automotive loans to pay, faculty charges to cowl, and aged dad and mom to look after. Mathur is simply one of many roughly two lakh professionals engaged on recreation improvement, platform administration, buyer assist, advertising, and knowledge analytics.

“This was a situation where everything you built collapsed within hours with no prior warning,” mentioned 30-year-old Mathur of the weird velocity with which the federal government moved on the ban.

A day in the past, on August 19, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was cleared by the Union Cabinet. It was tabled within the Lok Sabha and handed inside hours on August 20, adopted by the Rajya Sabha’s approval on August 21. Finally, on August 22, President Droupadi Murmu signed it into regulation.

Now, solely a notification from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stays earlier than the prohibition of real-money video games takes impact throughout India. The Bill cleared each hurdle in a breakneck three-day rush to develop into an Act. The authorities mentioned on-line playing was destroying households and changing into a safety menace.

Over the previous couple of days, the highest administration of real-money gaming firms organised townhalls and lots of introduced that operations can be shut down with fast impact.

Employees from a number of gaming platforms, together with Dream11, Paytm First Games, Junglee Games and Adda52, and people who play the video games of expertise and probability, spoke to India Today Digital on the situation that their identities not be divulged.

These are actual individuals with actual lives who’re grappling with an employment disaster in a sector that simply vaporised in a day. These people, who’ve expert themselves within the sector over time, are nervous that sharing their identification would possibly hit no matter is left of their careers.

The rushed blanket ban has compelled firms like Dream11, MPL, Zupee, Paytm First Games, Games24x7,Junglee Games and Adda52, to shut down real-money gaming operations nearly in a single day, rendering 1000’s of staff jobless.

Industry associations estimate that India’s Rs 30,000 crore (about $3.7 billion) real-money gaming sector had supported over two lakh jobs earlier than the ban. Then there are Indians who performed and relied on skill-based video games professionally, very similar to merchants in inventory markets. They, too, are on the verge of seeing their revenue streams vanish.

Beyond job losses, the ban carries wider dangers for the promoting sector and content material creators. It would additionally price the federal government an estimated Rs 20,000 crore yearly in misplaced tax income.

Worse nonetheless, gamers would possibly migrate to unregulated gray markets on the darkish internet, the place fraud and dependancy dangers multiply.

CAREER BUILT OVER 10 YEARS VANISHED IN DAYS

For many, the blanket ban on real-money gaming has destroyed years of exhausting work.

Smrita Singh Chandra, former VP Policy Communications at Dream11, who labored with the corporate for almost a decade, mentioned, “To prohibit this vibrant, skill-based industry overnight—without transition, nuance, or consideration of economic realities—is not only wrong, it risks undoing years of progress and harming millions of users, partners, employees, and the broader Indian sports ecosystem.”

“It’s not just jobs that are gone, it’s the specialised expertise that may not be of any use now,” a Mumbai-based Dream 11 worker informed India Today Digital.

“It took me 10 years to find some stability in life. I just got married, five years later than my parents wanted me to, because I wanted to be financially secure first. This kind of uncertainty is impossible to explain unless you’ve stared at the abyss in your career,” he added.

Mathur, mentioned he had massive initiatives lined up, and life appeared extra steady than earlier than.

Many professionals within the sector are of their 30s, balancing EMIs, automotive loans, younger households and kids.

“A former colleague of mine who switched to a new company with a 40% hike after resigning, was told he was not needed by his new company. Another one just shifted from Delhi to Bengaluru with his family two months ago,” mentioned Mathur.

“After having worked just in the real-money gaming industry since the start of my career, I am now looking for a new sector. The ban has shaken that sense of security,” he added.

HOW BIG IS THE ONLINE GAMING SECTOR IN INDIA?

According to media stories, almost two lakh individuals have been immediately employed within the sector. But insiders informed India Today Digital that the true quantity is perhaps nearer to a few lakh once you embrace outsourced buyer assist from the smaller firms.

Big names reminiscent of Dream11, MPL, PokerBaazi, and Zupee had massive in-house groups, whereas a whole bunch of smaller companies relied on contract employees, all now thrown into uncertainty, mentioned the trade insiders.

The authorities has largely focussed on customers, and ignored the lakhs of employees within the sector who will probably be immediately affected.

In an announcement posted by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the federal government mentioned that on-line cash gaming platforms had precipitated widespread hurt. “Families have lost their savings. Young people have fallen into addiction. In some heartbreaking cases, financial distress linked to these games has even led to suicides,” it famous.

Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, put a quantity to the issue.

“Forty-five crore people are negatively affected by online money games and face a loss of more than Rs 20,000 crores because of it,” mentioned Vaishnaw, explaining why the Centre moved to ban on-line cash gaming.

However, there was no point out of the roles that may be misplaced, or of any plans to deal with the ensuing unemployment.

LAKHS PUSHED INTO JOBLESSNESS IN INDIA

Union minister Vaishnaw informed Moneycontrol that the federal government would “make all attempts to support the people who are affected by it”. But staff are removed from reassured, as he supplied no particulars of these measures.

“There is already massive unemployment in the country. If the government has no concrete plan, then it has pushed lakhs more into joblessness,” mentioned the Mumbai-based Dream 11 staffer.

Some firms are attempting to cushion the blow.

“A few companies are trying to accommodate the impacted professionals in other verticals, but for firms dedicated to real-money gaming, it’s the end of the road,” mentioned Gauri Mittal, a Gurugram-based senior supervisor at Junglee Games.

“Some companies have offered advance salaries of up to three months as severance pay,” the 31-year-old Mittal mentioned.

“The fate of lakhs now hinges on judicial recourse,” she added.

AFTER BAN, WHAT ARE ONLINE GAMING COMPANIES PLANNING?

The senior Dream 11 worker mentioned the corporate was exploring non-real-money platforms reminiscent of Sportz Drip and Fancode, whereas others have been brainstorming on constructing merchandise from scratch.

Sportz Drip and Fancode are platforms the place customers can have interaction in fantasy sports activities or play with out wagering actual cash. Instead of money prizes, they provide factors, rewards, or different non-monetary incentives.

“But if companies start new projects, they won’t need as many people,” the Dream 11 worker mentioned.

An trade insider, who has labored with a number of firms, mentioned some had customers in different Asian international locations, Europe, and North America, however that market contributed solely about 20-25% of the overall income.

“If the base in India is gone, survival becomes very difficult,” the particular person mentioned.

COST OF GAMING BAN: INDIA RISKS LOSING INVESTMENT, TALENT

A content material strategist from Junglee Games informed India Today Digital that there can be contagion impact involving different sectors like fintech, promoting and content material creation.

“This move will have wider economic consequences. The online gaming industry is closely linked to sectors like fintech and payment gateways, which have seen strong growth in India. Even advertising will take a hit,” the particular person mentioned.

“This isn’t just a setback for the gaming industry, it affects everyone connected to it,” the strategist added.

The ban on real-money gaming has despatched shock waves by way of content material creators, streamers, tech groups, sponsors, and even movie star endorsers.

This is not simply unhealthy for giant firms which have invested closely, however for the general enterprise sentiment within the nation. Capital and expertise are prone to fly out.

A publish by entrepreneur Kavin Mittal highlighted that. His platform, Rush, is shutting down all operations in India and shifting bases to the US.

“After four years of building Rush in India, we’ve made a tough decision: exit India completely and go all-in on the US and global markets,” Mittal posted on X.

He talked about it was “disappointing” for the entrepreneurs, builders and groups who “poured their hearts and billions of dollars into building this sector”.

IF STOCK TRADING IS LEGAL, WHY BAN SKILL-BASED GAMING?

Industry insiders India Today Digital spoke to made a transparent distinction between playing and skill-based video games. They argued if the federal government might ban skill-based video games, it also needs to ban inventory buying and selling, particularly the high-risk futures and choices (F&O) phase.

Over 93% of retail F&O merchants incurred losses in three years from fiscal 2022, revealed a report by markets’ regulator Sebi in 2024.

“The winning percentage in online gaming is approximately 15-20%,” mentioned an trade insider.

Over 1.1 crore retail merchants in F&O markets have collectively misplaced Rs 1.81 lakh crore within the final 3 years, in accordance with Sebi. The common loss for every dealer was Rs 2 lakh.

REGULATION, NOT OUTRIGHT PROHIBITION, SHOULD BE THE WAY

Prohibition has by no means labored in India; in actual fact, it typically drives industries underground.

Sensing that unregulated and doubtlessly unsafe operators might take over, the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the regulation “will cause serious harm and drive players into the hands of fly-by-night operators”.

This is already true to an incredible extent for video games of probabilities, that are banned in India. According to customers India Today Digital spoke to, quite a few video games of probability are accessible by way of VPNs, and so they proceed to play repeatedly.

“A ban is not a solution; instead of curbing gambling, it will push millions of users toward offshore betting sites, unregulated platforms, and fraudulent operators,” chartered accountant Devang Maheshwari, founder of monetary companies firm Equialpha, posted on X.

“Nothing can stop people who want to gamble from gambling. I will continue using Stake (website) through VPN,” mentioned Shashank Bhatia (identify modified), who repeatedly makes use of betting apps and on-line gaming web sites, each Indian and worldwide.

Bhatia’s assertion reveals it’s close to inconceivable to maintain individuals off on-line platforms on this digital age.

Also, with a blanket ban, the federal government would not have any management of the sector.

“If it’s legal, the taxes go to the government. If it’s illegal, the taxes go to the politicians,” mentioned satirist and columnist Kamlesh Singh, common as Tau within the Teen Taal podcast.

That a blanket ban does not work has been exemplified in states’ tryst with alcohol prohibition.

Alcohol is obtainable in all dry states in India. However, governments which sacrifice massive excise earnings don’t have any means of regulating the underground commerce, and see scores of individuals getting killed from spurious alcohol.

No blanket ban has labored in India, and one of the simplest ways to go about controlling something is regulating it by taking up board all of the stakeholders.

But within the case of the ban on real-money video games, the federal government has enforced a ban with out trade consultations, which has led to 1000’s of individuals gazing job losses and financial uncertainty.

In a rustic that has a excessive unemployment fee, a blanket ban, that too, with none data or warning, will severely affect lakhs of livelihoods. Those who work in real-money gaming have been actual individuals with actual lives, who’ve loans to repay, faculty charges to pay, and meals to placed on the desk.

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