Online Gaming Freeze
New Delhi
India’s online gaming landscape saw major changes on Friday as WinZO and PokerBaazi announced the suspension of their real money offerings in response to the recently passed Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
WinZO, the country’s largest social gaming and interactive entertainment platform, stated that all affected games would be withdrawn effective August 22. Since its launch in 2018, WinZO has built a community of over 250 million users, featuring more than 100 games in 15 languages created by global developers. The company emphasized its commitment to regulatory compliance, user safety, and national security, noting that platform features were designed with responsibility and innovation rather than monetization. WinZO also thanked its employees, investors, and partners for supporting the platform through challenges including the pandemic, tax changes, and prior regulatory shifts.
Similarly, PokerBaazi announced an immediate pause of all real money gaming activities. The company said it would review its strategy once the bill is fully enacted, stressing that compliance with the new legislation was a top priority.
The regulatory shift follows earlier moves by industry leaders such as Dream11 and My11Circle, who had already suspended real money games, reflecting the broad impact of the new law on India’s rapidly growing online gaming sector. Analysts expect these changes to reshape market dynamics and spur innovation in skill-based and social gaming segments while ensuring adherence to the new regulatory framework.
