'Dream11 was a time bomb, not a Unicorn': CA backs real-money gaming ban, says 'not a policy blunder'

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), chartered accountant and financial commentator CA Nitin Kaushik described Dream11 as “not a unicorn but a time bomb — built on 45 crore losers.” He argued that the government’s crackdown on real-money gaming platforms was not a policy misstep but one of the most significant public health interventions in recent years. 

Behind the hype: Losses and human cost 

Dream11, once valued at $8 billion with over 260 million users, was marketed as a fantasy sports success story. But Kaushik pointed out that the model thrived on losses: every year, 45 crore Indians lose money on online gaming, amounting to over ₹20,000 crore in cumulative losses. Most victims were young earners from smaller towns. 

“The ads celebrated winners, but the reality was lakhs of shattered families,” Kaushik said, citing 47 suicides in Tamil Nadu linked to gaming addiction between 2019–2024, and the case of a Mumbai businessman who went bankrupt after losing ₹12 crore. 

Why the ban was necessary 

Critics accused policymakers of stifling innovation, but Kaushik countered that the so-called innovation was “gambling addiction packaged as technology.” He listed risks including links to fraud, money laundering, and terror funding, warning that the platforms acted as digital casinos draining India’s savings. 

“The government could have kept collecting taxes, but it chose to protect citizens’ mental health and financial stability. In doing so, it saved millions from debt, despair, and worse,” he wrote. Kaushik added that global precedents in the US, China, and Europe prove India’s stance is aligned with international efforts against gambling disguised as gaming. 

Road ahead for gaming in India 

The Union government has passed a new gaming bill to separate skill-based e-sports from betting-led platforms. The move has triggered widespread layoffs and shutdowns across gaming startups, many of which depended on real-money wagering to survive. Experts say the industry is undergoing a reset where only genuine skill-based platforms will remain, paving the way for a healthier digital gaming ecosystem.