WinZO and PokerBaazi suspend real money gaming after new Online Gaming Bill

India’s new Online Gaming Bill, 2025, has prompted WinZO and PokerBaazi to suspend real money gaming operations. The move follows similar decisions by Dream11 and My11Circle, signalling major disruption in the country’s fast-growing online gaming and fantasy sports sector

New Delhi: WinZO, India’s largest social gaming and interactive entertainment platform, on Friday announced that it will withdraw its impacted offerings from August 22, following the passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.

The company said it remains committed to complying with the law of the land while continuing to fuel India’s digital journey. Launched in 2018, WinZO has grown into a community of over 250 million users engaging with more than 100 games in 15 languages, developed by third-party creators from across the globe.

---

The company said it has always upheld the highest standards of integrity, ensuring user safety and national security. It added that every feature on the platform was driven by responsibility and innovation rather than the pursuit of monetisation.

The firm also expressed gratitude to its team, investors, and partners for standing by it through challenges such as the pandemic, taxation shocks, and regulatory changes. “In compliance with the new law, we are responsibly withdrawing impacted offerings w.e.f 22nd August 2025,” the company said.

Meanwhile, PokerBaazi also announced that it has paused all real money online gaming operations with immediate effect. “With a very heavy heart, we announce that PokerBaazi will be pausing its operations in compliance with The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. Effective immediately, no real money games will be offered on our platform,” the company said in a statement.

PokerBaazi added that it will evaluate the future course of action once the Bill is fully enacted. The fresh announcements come after industry majors like Dream11 and My11Circle had already stopped offering real money games earlier this week — underscoring the wide impact of the new legislation on India’s booming online gaming sector.