Nikhil Kamath, Arpit Khandelwal, Madhu Kela hit hard as Nazara share dives 22% in 2 days

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, ace investor Madhusudan Kela and Plutus Wealth Management co-founder Arpit Khandelwal saw notional values of their stakes in Nazara Technologies taking a big hit, falling by nearly Rs 300 crore, as the stock dived 22 per cent in two days. The stock declined as the government introduced a bill to ban real money gaming, with the Street reducing its earnings estimates accordingly. 

Nikhil Kamath, via Kamath Associates and NKsquared, owned 3.51 per cent stake in the online gaming platform, while Madhu Kela held 1.18 per cent in Nazara. Khandelwal, on his name, held 68,92,420 shares or 7.44 per cent stake in Nazara as on June 30. Khandelwal's Plutus Wealth Management also owned 1,01,07,580 shares or 10.91 per cent stake in Nazara.

The value of Khandelwal's personal stake in Nazara fell Rs 178 crore to Rs 786.73 crore from Rs 965.62 crore on August 19. Kela took Rs 28.37 crore hit, as notional value of his stake fell to Rs 124.77 crore from Rs 153.14 crore. Kamath took Rs 84 crore notional hit in Nazara, with his stake valued at Rs 371.16 crore today against Rs 455.55 crore on August 19. 

Nazara Technologies shares have fallen 22 per cent in two days. ICICI Securities today cut its target price on the stock by 27 per cent to Rs 1,100 from Rs 1,500, lowering its rating to ‘Reduce’ in view of the Online Gaming Bill 2025.

ICICI Securities noted that the Lok Sabha has passed the bill aiming to regulate the online gaming sector, the implementation of which would essentially make online Real Money Gaming infeasible in India. 

"While most of the companies operating in the space are unlisted, Nazara Technologies has meaningful exposure in the space via Moonshine Technology (PokerBaazi). We had earlier assigned Rs 400 valuation to Moonshine. Given the ban on RMG, we now cut this to zero," ICICI Securities said. 

Nazara’s other verticals such as gamified early learning, publishing and gaming arcades remain unaffected, the brokerage noted adding that the formal recognition of eSports as a sport could be a structural positive for Nodwin Gaming. 

The bill proposes criminalisation of digital betting and bans monetary transactions for real-money games (RMG), with banks and fintech firms barred from processing such payments. It also prohibits the advertising and promotion of RMG across media platforms.

The legislation empowers the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to regulate and block illegal gaming platforms, while also setting up a national eSports authority to oversee and promote competitive gaming. Importantly, it officially recognises eSports as a legitimate sport, bringing it under a regulated framework similar to other sports.

ICICI Securities noted that upside risks for Nazara included faster eSports growth following its formal recognition, and any potential dilution of the proposed RMG ban.