Gaming stocks tank as ban looms

Players leave the table Retail investors have been gradually trimming their stakes in gaming stocks for a year before the ban.

- Mayur Bhalerao

India's online gaming sector was rattled this week after the government's sweeping ban on real-money gaming wiped out billions in investor wealth. The ban, framed as a crackdown on betting and gambling, triggered panic selling in the markets, dragging down shares of listed companies in the sector.

Shares of Nazara Technologies plunged 14% in two sessions—13% on Wednesday and another 1.2% on Thursday. Delta Corp. and OnMobile Global slipped 2% and 3%, respectively, in two sessions.

"The passage of the online gaming bill has created an immediate overhang for gaming stocks, and the near-term impact looks sharply negative. Since the bill effectively bans real-money gaming (RMG), which currently contributes nearly 86% to India's online gaming revenues, investor sentiment has turned cautious," said Hariprasad K., a Sebi-registered research analyst and founder, Livelong Wealth.

Yet, amid the carnage, thousands of small investors who had been steadily trimming their stakes in gaming stocks over the past year appear to have walked away just in time.