THE OMG POOL: PADDLING GAMERS OUT OF GAMBLING

Online money games pushed some of society's most susceptible sections into debt. As a new law ends the quiet havoc, gaming firms can guide their users to gentler pastures

- HARISH BIJOOR

The online money gaming industry in India is in a tizzy. In the week gone by, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 was swiftly introduced and passed in both Houses of parliament.

It sure has been a tumultuous week for every gaming company that has been the talk of the town for the past several years. This high-visibility industry has grown leaps and bounds. While the 2025 numbers are awaited, the size of the industry in 2024 has been estimated to be ₹31,938 crore ($3.7 billion). The number for 2029 was estimated at ₹78,500 crore ($9.1 billion). The industry today speaks of an ecosystem of 2 lakh employees, a large number of companies, deep investments in online tech, a thriving ecosystem of influencers and a robustly-active advertising plan that ropes in both influencers and big stars from the realm of cricket and cinema to rope in new customers.

Dream11, just one of the 1900-plus companies around, hit it big while sponsoring the Indian cricket team jersey that can attract as many as 78 crore eyeballs—more than half the country's population—at one go. Anyone who makes it to a cricket jersey in India is a big moneymaker brand with big ambitions. On the sly and superstitious side of the fence, any brand that has made it to the cricket jersey in recent times has had it hard. Sahara, Oppo, Byju's and now Dream11 are all brands that soared high and, coincidentally, landed with a sudden thud. The Indian cricket jersey jinx is something to consider for sure.

Even as you consider the jinx, the gaming industry has most certainly seen it coming, but has possibly used every tool to postpone the inevitable for a while. This is an industry that grabbed the attention and involvement of more than 45 crore Indians who put their money into games that excited their interest and avarice.