This follows the Parliament passing the brand new on-line gaming Invoice final month, which bans all types of on-line actual cash gaming
In Could this 12 months, Games24x7 additionally laid off near 180 staff on account of the income hit from the GST clarification that got here in late 2023
Rival MPL can be shedding about 60% of its India workers whereas Nazara-backed Moonshine Expertise, which operates PokerBaazi, is trimming its workforce by 50%
Following the Centre’s ban on on-line actual cash gaming (RMG), gaming unicorn Games24X7
has now reportedly begun shedding practically 70% of its workforce.
Sources instructed information company PTI that the retrenchment train will influence practically 500 staff on the firm.
“There have been round 700 to 750 staff at Games24x7. The corporate is now shedding round 70% of them. Round 500 individuals could also be impacted,” a supply reportedly stated.
This comes every week after Inc42 reported that the corporate had begun layoffs, which might influence staff throughout the board and departments. Notably, that is the second spherical of retrenchments on the firm this 12 months.
In Could this 12 months, a lot earlier than the RMG ban, the gaming big fired near 180 staff on account of the income hit from the GST clarification that got here in late 2023.
Based in 2006, Games24x7 claims to function a web-based ability gaming platform. It initially rose to prominence on the again of its flagship rummy platform, RummyCircle, however later expanded to fantasy sports activities with My11Circle.
Backed by marquee traders akin to Tiger International and Raine Group, the gaming startup has raised greater than $108 Mn up to now. It achieved the coveted unicorn standing with a valuation of $2.5 Bn throughout its $75 Mn fundraise in 2022.
At its peak, Games24x7 claimed to have greater than 500 Mn fantasy groups and even sponsored the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as an affiliate companion. The corporate clocked an working income of INR 1,980 Cr in FY23, up 70% YoY, in opposition to a web lack of INR 250 Cr, up 9% YoY.
RMG Ecosystem Crumbles
With this, Games24x7 has grow to be the newest Indian gaming startup to axe jobs within the aftermath of the brand new on-line gaming legal guidelines.
Handed final month, the Promotion and Regulation of On-line Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits all types of on-line actual cash gaming however retains the door open for selling esports and non-money on-line video games.
The yet-to-be-notified act bans all types of ads associated to on-line cash gaming and bars monetary establishments from processing any transactions associated to such platforms. The act envisages hefty fines and/ or imprisonment for violations.
In the meantime, the ban left the net RMG ecosystem seething and crumbling. Many platforms have shut down RMG choices, laid off staff and pivoted to new enterprise fashions to adjust to the Centre’s instructions.
Earlier this month, it emerged that gaming unicorn MPL was shedding about 60% of its India workers whereas Nazara-backed Moonshine Expertise, which operates PokerBaazi, was trimming its workforce by half.
On high of this, the enterprise fashions of those RMG platforms evaporated in a single day, forcing them to search for new monetisation instruments. As an illustration, Dream11 plans to give attention to its on-line streaming platform FanCode, fintech and the AI phase.
In the meantime, rival WinZO has pivoted to the quick video phase by rolling out its quick video characteristic known as ZO TV whereas Zupee has ventured into the quick video content material area.
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