Mobile Premier League to Slash 60% of Indian Workforce After Online Gaming Ban

Days after the central government announced ban on online real money games (RMG), gaming unicorn Mobile Premier League (MPL) has planned to lay off approximately 60% of its India workforce, according to a report published by Reuters.

In an internal mail, MPL cofounder Sai Srinivas Kiran informed the employees that the start-up will reduce the size of its workforce presently working in India. The company remains committed to providing all possible support during this transition period.

“With a heavy heart, we have decided that we will be downsizing our India Team significantly. India accounted for 50% of M-League’s revenues and this change would mean that we would no longer be making any revenue from India in the near future,” the company said in an email, as quoted by the newswire.

The report stated that MPL will cut about 300 of its 500 India-based roles across departments such as marketing, finance, operations, and legal. The gaming platform is now shifting its attention to free-to-play titles and expanding in the US as a part of realignment post online real money gaming ban in India.

The start-up is backed by Peak XV Partners. In 2021, it was valued at $2.3 billion. And its India revenue stood at around $100 million in the financial year 2025.

Online Money Gaming Ban

The Online Gaming Act, 2025, which received Presidential assent on August 22, 2025, has triggered an upheaval in the online gaming sector. It puts a blanket ban on all forms of online money games, while promoting e-sports and online social games.

Online gaming platforms, including Dream11, My11Circle, WinZO, Zupee, and Nazara Technologies-backed PokerBaazi, have halted their real-money online gaming offerings. 

Top gaming firms, including Nazara Technologies, Gametion, and nCore Games have also set up a new industry association to strengthen their representation after the fresh gaming legislation came into effect in August.

The Indian Game Publishers and Developers Association (IGPDA) will focus on the country's unified voice for game publishers and developers. Other founding members include Reliance Games, SuperGaming, Tara Gaming, underdogs Studio, Aeos Games, and Dot9 Games.

It aims to champion the creation of original Made-in-India IP, which will bring Indian stories into gaming, skill-building across the AVGC value chain, and enable India to produce globally competitive AAA cities.