Online gaming company Zupee fired 30% employees: Companies like MPL-PokerBaazi have also done layoffs; Real money gaming was banned in India

Online gaming platform Zupee has fired 30% of its workforce i.e. 170 employees in India. The company said that it will focus on social games and short video content instead of fantasy gaming.

Zupee founder and CEO Dilsher Singh Malhi said that this layoff was necessary due to the new rules. He described this decision as a difficult but necessary step.

The company has also introduced a special assistance package for the fired employees. This includes salary more than the fixed notice period, additional compensation according to the years of work and financial support for up to 6 months.

In fact, after the ban on real money gaming in India, fantasy gaming companies have started laying off their employees.

Companies like MPL and PokerBaazi are also firing employees

According to a Moneycontrol report, Games 24×7, a company that runs platforms like My 11 Circle and Rummy Circle, has started firing employees. Apart from this, PokerBaazi has laid off 45% of its staff i.e. about 200 people.

At the same time, Mobile Premier League (MPL), one of India’s largest gaming companies, has decided to lay off 60% of its local employees (about 300 people) in India. MPL CEO Sai Srinivas wrote in an internal email to his employees on August 31, 2025, “With a heavy heart, we have decided that we will reduce our India team to a great extent.

On August 22, the Online Gaming Bill got the approval of the President

Earlier on August 22, the Online Gaming Bill 2025 got the approval of the President. Now it has become law. On August 21, the Rajya Sabha and a day earlier the Lok Sabha approved the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025. The bill was introduced by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.