By the end of 2025, the Indian Parliament passed the "Online Gaming Promotion and Regulation Act," and the entire industry in India was almost put on pause overnight.
The once glorious real-money gaming platforms, such as Dream Sports' Dream11, were suddenly declared illegal in their core business models. They had to shut down cash contests and notify users to withdraw their balances; Mobile Premier League suspended paid matches; Zupee stopped its cash mode; poker and rummy platforms including PokerBaazi and Rummy Circle also paused operations.
With tens of millions of users, billions of dollars in investments, and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, the Indian market cooled down quickly after the regulations took effect.
However, the story of these local companies did not end there. The ban targeted gambling practices but did not eliminate the games themselves.
Thus, the first round of self-rescue in the industry began, with the gaming industry starting to reconstruct its profit models. Previously, real-money gaming platforms focused on GMV, total betting amount, pay rate, and commission ratio; now, they focus on daily active users, user retention time, and interaction frequency.
Free gaming modes became the "rebirth" starting point for these companies. For example, Zupee retained a free version of its casual games, shifting towards advertising and brand revenue, and launched "Zupee Studio" to enter the micro-drama competition track.
🐳 Following this, many typical companies began to go global
The regulatory ban had a devastating impact on India's real-money gaming platforms. In fact, even before domestic regulations tightened, many leading companies had already begun exploring international markets, and the implementation of regulations accelerated this process.
WinZO: From India to the World
WinZO is one of the most representative real-money social casino platforms in India. After domestic real-money games were restricted, it clearly adjusted its strategy and officially entered the US market. The platform not only launched products centered on social interaction and lightweight games but also integrated short video content to increase user retention and interaction.
This strategic transformation turned WinZO into a cross-regional, cross-product line interactive entertainment platform.
Dream11: Building a Global Content Network
As a leader in India's fantasy sports field, Dream11 previously earned over 90% of its revenue from cash real-money matches. With the change in regulatory policies, Dream Sports also completely adjusted its business positioning, aiming to build a global sports entertainment ecosystem.
According to the latest news, Dream11 is optimizing to become a global second-screen sports entertainment platform centered on watching games interactively and sports content creation, serving not only Indian users but also global sports fans.
Dream11 has also reshaped its entire product positioning into a global strategy.
Nazara Technologies: Global Acquisitions
Nazara Technologies is one of the earliest Indian gaming companies to go international, achieving global influence through a series of overseas acquisitions and expansions, such as acquiring the UK gaming company Fusebox Games; expanding its Sportskeeda global sports media platform business.
Compared to relying solely on a single product to go global, Nazara has formed a more robust global development through technology, brand, and content ecosystem expansion.
🐳 Avoiding regulation, going global through technology export and SaaS
Aside from directly entering new markets with products, many Indian companies have chosen a more stable, low-risk way to go global—SaaS technology export.
These companies package their underlying technology, game engines, user interaction systems, and payment solutions into reusable overseas SaaS products, selling or licensing them on international platforms. Many tech companies export their interactive SDKs, payment processing systems, and real-time competition engines to operators in regions like Southeast Asia and Africa, thereby achieving business globalization.
🔴 This model, compared to traditional product globalization, is more robust and less subject to domestic Indian regulatory constraints because the nature of technology export does not involve cash gambling activities.
Whether it's WinZO entering new markets directly with products, Dream11 globally reshaping its content strategy, or Nazara through acquisitions and brand globalization, each attempt reflects the collective consciousness of the Indian gaming industry seeking new growth points globally.
In a sense, "A good bird chooses a tree to nest" not only depicts the reality of Indian companies but also provides insights for global gaming companies—no matter which country they are in, when the local environment undergoes structural changes, companies should actively embrace emerging and popular markets to find new growth soil and development space in the broader global market.
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