{"id":777031532,"date":"2025-09-11T08:02:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T11:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777031532"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T22:16:45","slug":"zupee-axes-170-jobs-amid-indias-real-money-gaming-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/zupee-axes-170-jobs-amid-indias-real-money-gaming-ban","title":{"rendered":"Zupee axes 170 jobs amid India&#8217;s real-money gaming ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The platform joins a wave of layoffs in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>India.- Zupee, an online gaming platform with over 150 million registered users, has announced the layoff of 170 employees, approximately 30 per cent of its workforce. The move is a response to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The legislation, approved on August 22 and now awaiting presidential assent, <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/india-passes-bill-to-ban-real-money-online-games\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/india-passes-bill-to-ban-real-money-online-games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bans real-money gaming (RMG)<\/a> in India, including fantasy sports, rummy and poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This has been a tough call for us, but it was necessary to adapt to the new regulatory framework,&#8221; said Dilsher Singh Malhi, founder and CEO of Zupee. &#8220;Our colleagues who are leaving us have been an integral part of Zupee&#8217;s journey, and we will always remain thankful for their contribution.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other RMG firms have also slashed jobs: Games24x7, parent of My11Circle, has cut around 400 roles following an earlier reduction of 180 in May. <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/mpl-slashes-workforce-amid-india-gaming-ban\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/mpl-slashes-workforce-amid-india-gaming-ban\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mobile Premier League (MPL) is eliminating nearly 300 positions<\/a>, about 60 per cent of its Indian staff after CEO Sai Srinivas said domestic revenue had been &#8220;wiped out&#8221;. Baazi Games, operator of PokerBaazi, is trimming over 200 jobs, nearly 45 per cent of its workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MPL, Zupee, and Paytm First Games have suspended paid games outright, while Dream Sports (parent of Dream11) is exploring sports AI, fan engagement and the creator economy. Winzo is expanding internationally, entering the US market after Brazil, and others are eyeing advertising-led or subscription-based models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legal challenges are underway, with Head Digital Works (operator of A23) <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/indias-online-gaming-ban-faces-legal-challenge\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/indias-online-gaming-ban-faces-legal-challenge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contesting the ban in the Karnataka High Court<\/a>. Nazara Technologies has even terminated its acquisition of Moonshine Technology (PokerBaazi&#8217;s operator), citing the law as a &#8220;material adverse event.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"see-also-container\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-article\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/04\/Delta-Coap-Limited-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-article__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href='https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/delta-corp-suspends-goa-resort-project'>Delta Corp suspends Goa resort project<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The platform joins a wave of layoffs in the sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":15630,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Indian online gaming sector is undergoing significant workforce reductions, with Zupee laying off 30% of its staff (170 employees) in response to the impending Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. This legislation, which bans real-money gaming, has prompted similar job cuts at Games24x7, MPL, and Baazi Games, alongside strategic pivots towards international markets, advertising models, or legal challenges. Nazara Technologies also terminated an acquisition, citing the new law as a material adverse event.","focusai_entities":"Zupee, Dilsher Singh Malhi, Games24x7, My11Circle, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Sai Srinivas, Baazi Games, PokerBaazi, Paytm First Games, Dream Sports, Dream11, Winzo, Head Digital Works, A23, Karnataka High Court, Nazara Technologies, Moonshine Technology, Delta Corp","focusai_location":"India, Goa, US, Brazil","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"India RMG Ban Impact","query":"What are the projected long-term GGR and NGR impacts on the Indian iGaming market following the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, and how might this influence future regulatory frameworks in other emerging markets?"},{"label":"Operator Strategic Pivots","query":"Beyond workforce reductions, what specific strategic pivots are major Indian iGaming operators implementing to mitigate revenue loss from the RMG ban, particularly concerning international expansion, new gaming verticals, and alternative monetization models?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16334],"tags":[24857,58,225,21723],"class_list":["post-777031532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-asia-news","tag-ban","tag-india","tag-legislation","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777031532"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777031541,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031532\/revisions\/777031541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777031532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777031532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777031532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}