The court action will be playing out at a time when India’s online real money gaming sector is staring at a valuation wipeout, with unlisted giants like Dream11, Gameskraft, Winzo, and others facing potential erosions.
The panic in the industry is happening in the wake of the Centre’s online gaming bill, which has already cleared both Houses of Parliament and now awaits presidential assent. Once enacted, the law will effectively outlaw real money gaming in India, forcing operators to either shut shop or radically pivot their business models.
No gaming platform, which deals in real money, is in a wait-and-watch mode. While platforms will try to push New Delhi for more time to pivot their business models, they will end up losing out on a very profitable revenue stream, which will be a high draw-down on the firms’ valuation, an industry insider told NDTV Profit on the condition of anonymity.
India’s online real money gaming sector is valued at about $25 billion, generating over Rs 31,000 crore in annual revenue and contributing close to Rs 20,000 crore in taxes, news agency PTI reported on Aug. 20, quoting official sources. The industry supports 2 lakh jobs across over 400 companies, while attracting nearly Rs 25,000 crore in foreign direct investment.
