‘Wish govt had made this decision sooner’: Kavin Bharti Mittal’s Rush to exit India, focus on US, global markets

The decision to ban all forms of online money games should have come earlier, which could have saved billions in investments as well as leaving the industry in a limbo, said Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder of Hike. Mittal’s Rush, a casual real-money gaming (RMG) platform, will now exit India completely and go all in on the US and global markets, he said. 

“After 4 years building Rush in India, we’ve made a tough decision: exit India completely and go all-in on the US & global markets. Why? The Govt of India has made its stance clear: Real Money Gaming will not be allowed. Another potential GST bump to 40% incoming, years of regulatory ambiguity, and now a bill rushed through to ban all RMG without industry consultation. The message is loud and clear. We are disappointed. Not just for ourselves, but for the entrepreneurs, developers & teams who poured their hearts and billions of dollars into building this sector,” said Kavin, son of Sunil Bharti Mittal. 

Mittal said that they respect the government’s right to take a moral stance on what it believes is best for society. He also acknowledged that policy-making is complex and involves hard trade-offs.

“What we wish: that this decision had been made sooner, with clearer communication. It would have saved billions in investment and avoided leaving the industry in limbo,” he said in a post on social media. 

He pointed out that the US has far more clarity on such policies, highlighting how India decided not to embrace cryptocurrency, as well as “leaving the Web3 ownership”. But the US has an act for stablecoins passed, one for tokens is on the horizon, they have the most exciting environments to build Web3, he said. “And that’s why we’re excited,” said Mittal, acknowledging that the challenge for them now is to see if they can scale the US and global business to be bigger than India and do so in the next 18-24 months. 

Separately, online gaming company Mobile Premier League (MPL) has suspended all of its real-money gaming offerings in India. “Effective immediately, we are suspending all gaming offerings involving money on the MPL platform in India. Our foremost priority is our users. While new deposits will no longer be accepted, customers will be able to withdraw their balances seamlessly. However, online money games will not be available on the MPL platform anymore," it said on a social media post. MPL has over 120 million registered users across Asia, Europe, and North America.

Zupee too announced it will discontinue all of its paid games, while Dream11 is also pulling the plug on its real-money gaming business.

THE ONLINE GAMING BILL

The Parliament passed a bill to ban all forms of online money games. The Rajya Sabha approved the bill without debate, following its earlier passage in the Lok Sabha. The bill, named The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, aims to curb a growing societal issue.

Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, highlighted the bill as a necessary step to avert the dangers posed by online money games. "There is addiction. The family's savings are lost. It is estimated that 45 crore people have fallen victim to it. More than Rs 20,000 crore of our middle-class families' hard-earned money has been destroyed," Vaishnaw stated.

The legislation seeks to promote eSports and online social gaming, representing two-thirds of the online gaming sector. The bill aims to safeguard middle-class families and youth from the burgeoning problem of online money games, deemed a public health risk by the World Health OrganiSation (WHO).

Vaishnaw noted that the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-11, categorises online money gaming as a disorder, causing psychological issues and compulsive behaviour.

The bill prohibits advertisements for online money games and bars financial institutions from facilitating related transactions. Vaishnaw cited media reports of suicides linked to online gaming losses. "This problem has become similar to drugs. There are powerful people behind online money games. They will challenge in the courts. They will run campaigns through media and social media, but when it comes to defending our middle-class families and youth, then for Modi ji it is only middle-class families and youth," he asserted.

The bill outlines strict penalties for violations, including up to three years of imprisonment or a fine up to Rs 1 crore for operators, while advertisers may face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh.