Following ban, RMG operators scramble for a backup plan Dream11 cofounder and CEO Harsh Jain has hinted at exploring different verticals including sports analytics, AI-driven products and services, and fintech as mentioned.

Real-money gaming companies are now looking to explore different categories and newer markets after the Indian government imposed a blanket ban on such games.

Dream Sports, which runs the popular Dream11 real-money game, is exploring the fintech industry. This follows the company's formal removal of real money features from the platform, although it is allowing users to play games for free.

Entrepreneur India has learned that the fintech platform, called Dream Money, started as a pilot a couple of months ago as part of the diversification efforts.

According to its listing on the Google Play Store, Dream Money allows one to invest in fixed deposits and gold. One can make daily investments into gold for as low as Rs 10. It also has a dashboard to keep track of the investments, all bank accounts, mutual funds and more.

Separately, Dream11 cofounder and CEO Harsh Jain has hinted at exploring different verticals including sports analytics, AI-driven products and services, and fintech as mentioned above.

Entrepreneur India has reached out to Dream Sports to learn more about the new venture.

Another major player in the real money gaming space to pivot is WinZO. The company has announced its official launch in the United States. It's worth noting that the company has already rolled out its services in Brazil.

The move places the company at "the intersection of three of the world's four largest mobile gaming markets, India, Brazil, and the US, with a combined market size of USD 65–70 billion and more than 20 billion annual mobile game downloads," it said in a statement.

"Entering the US, the world's largest and most influential gaming market, is a decisive step towards that mission. We are equally excited to introduce ZO TV, our new short video format, which further diversifies our content offerings and strengthens WinZO's position as a global hub and one stop destination for interactive entertainment," WinZo cofounders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, said in a statement.

It is not clear whether other RMG operators will follow suit or not. There are also reports of some companies planning to challenge the ban in the courts. In the meanwhile, more or less all RMG operators have shut their operations.

Gamescraft, for instance, has gone in complete shutdown mode with its website stating: "Due to the enactment of The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, our services have been discontinued."

The era of real money games is now pretty much over in India, a senior VC told Entrepreneur India on the condition of anonymity. The VC further said that firms are wise to explore new avenues and that there will be minimal legal friction.

"Investors, however, are likely to stand by their founders as they pivot to the next projects," the VC added.

Another senior VC an entrepreneur spoke to pointed out the financial commitments the companies had made in the market. "The major concern lies when it comes to bigger companies in the industry leading the various sports arms, be it Dream11 sponsoring the Indian Cricket Team, and a lot of other players supporting sports and individuals too," the VC noted.

RMG ban comes into effect

Shortly after getting cleared by the Parliament, President Draupadi Murmu gave assent to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, making it into a law.

For the uninitiated, the new bill defines RMGs as "an online game, irrespective of whether such game is based on skill, chance, or both, played by a user by paying fees, depositing money or other stakes in expectation of winning which entails monetary and other enrichment in return of money or other stakes; but shall not include any e-sports…"

The deal-breaker, however, is the proposal to impose a blanket ban on such platforms.

"No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in the offering of online money game and online money gaming service," the bill says.

"No person shall make, cause to be made, aid, abet, induce, or otherwise be involved in the making or causing to be made any advertisement, in any media including electronic means of communication, which directly or indirectly promotes or induces any person to play any online money game or indulge in any activity promoting online money gaming," it further states.

As mentioned above, the new law has come as a big jolt to the online gaming industry, wherein real-money games contributed a large share.

According to a Lumikai report released in November 2024, real-money gaming remains the largest revenue contributor to the overall gaming industry, which was pegged at USD 3.8 billion in FY2023-24. Real-money games accounted for USD 2.4 billion of the total revenues. The report estimates that the gaming industry will be worth USD 9.2 billion by FY29.

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) says that the "online skill gaming" industry is a sunrise sector with over INR 2 lakh crore valuation and over INR 31,000 crore in revenue. The industry supports 2 lakh direct and indirect jobs.

Conventional e-sports players, however, don't seem much affected by the possible revenue loss.

"The biggest benefit is clarity. For years, esports was conflated with real money gaming, creating hesitation among investors, brands, and even parents. This bill officially recognises esports as a legitimate competitive sport, removing that ambiguity and unlocking confidence across the ecosystem," Akshat Rathee, cofounder and Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming, had told Entrepreneur.

"It strengthens opportunities for structured growth, whether through professional leagues, IP creation, or homegrown game development, while attracting non-endemic brands and long-term investments into the sector. For young players, it sends a powerful signal that esports can be a real, respectable career path," said, in a statement to Entrepreneur," he added.