MPL to Lay Off 60% of India Team After Real-Money Gaming Ban Disrupts Operations
India’s real-money online gaming ban forces MPL to lay off 60% of its India workforce—around 300 jobs lost—as it shifts focus to free-to-play models and overseas markets. Sector-wide impact widens with 2,000+ job losses and legal challenges underway.
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Following the government’s new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which bans real-money online games—including fantasy sports and rummy—Mobile Premier League (MPL) has announced a massive workforce reduction. Roughly 60% of its India-based staff (around 300 employees out of ~500) will be laid off, affecting departments across marketing, operations, finance, engineering, and legal.
The announcement was made in an internal communication by co-founder Sai Srinivas, who acknowledged that India accounted for 50% of MPL’s revenue, making continued operations unsustainable. In response, MPL plans to pivot toward free-to-play offerings and expand its presence in markets like the U.S. and Europe.
Meanwhile, the ban is reshaping the broader Indian gaming ecosystem—over 2,000 job losses have emerged across the sector, with rival platforms like Dream11 experiencing a 95% revenue collapse overnight, though not announcing major layoffs immediately. Some firms, like A23, have initiated legal challenges to the bill, calling it overly restrictive.
