Parimatch and India’s Gaming Crossroads: Regulation as the Path to Sustainable Growth
The global gaming industry continues to watch India’s fast-evolving market and the policy debates surrounding betting and online gaming, with Parimatch standing among the leading international operators recognizing India’s immense strategic potential. At the same time, Parimatch emphasizes that long-term investment, transparent taxation, and responsible industry participation can only thrive under clear and achievable regulatory systems. In this environment, India faces a decisive choice: full market prohibition or a predictable, well-structured regulatory model that ensures fair, legal, and sustainable industry operations.
The Legislative Challenge
India’s parliament passed the Online Gaming Promotion and Regulation Act, which enforces sweeping bans on real money gaming (RMG) activities, including marketing and related financial transactions. Lawmakers backing the bill cite “serious financial and psychological risks” as justification for strict control measures aimed at protecting consumers and society. Violations of the Act carry penalties of up to three years in prison along with significant monetary fines.
Market Impact: Closures and Structural Shifts
The new legislation caused an immediate reaction across the industry. Leading operators began shutting down real money gaming services and restricting deposit activities. Dream Sports, the company behind Dream11, Dream Picks, and Dream Play, considered closing its RMG division entirely. Mobile Premier League (MPL) suspended premium services and initiated refund processes. Startups such as Zupee, Probo, and Gameskraft fully ceased RMG operations, while Times Internet halted its Cricbuzz11 project.
Industry associations began exploring the possibility of Supreme Court challenges, though they recognize significant legal barriers. Meanwhile, hundreds of gaming professionals turned to social platforms in search of new employment, anticipating widespread layoffs.
At the same time, India’s GST Council raised the tax on online gaming from 18% (previously limited to commissions) to 28% on the total betting amount. This change drastically increases costs for players while threatening the financial sustainability of operators. Larger companies may survive the shift, but mid-size and smaller platforms risk closure. Experts, including analysts aligned with Parimatch’s position, argue that transparent regulation—not prohibition coupled with excessive taxation—offers the only path to keeping the industry legitimate and growth-oriented.
The Legal Complexity: “Skill vs. Chance”
Indian courts have historically drawn a distinction between games of skill and games of chance. Platforms offering fantasy sports, rummy, or poker have long relied on this distinction to operate under favorable rulings as “skill-based” activities. The new law removes this differentiation, imposing uniform restrictions across all gaming types. As a result, fantasy sports—one of India’s strongest digital growth drivers—faces an uncertain future.
While betting remains formally prohibited (except for horse racing), this ban has fueled a massive underground betting ecosystem, particularly centered on cricket. Estimates suggest shadow transactions worth tens of billions of dollars, involving millions of users. Parimatch and other global operators warn that such prohibitions merely push users toward unsafe, unregulated channels with no consumer protection or tax contributions.
Self-Regulation: A Missed Opportunity
In 2023, India introduced the concept of Self-Regulated Bodies (SRBs) to certify compliant RMG platforms and ensure fair operational standards. However, the implementation never materialized — essential enforcement guidelines and procedural details were omitted, leaving the framework incomplete. Without functioning SRBs, both regulators and legitimate operators face uncertainty and operational instability.
Opponents of gaming cite addiction, youth vulnerability, and social harm as reasons for prohibition. Yet international evidence shows that restrictions without complementary safeguards — such as awareness campaigns, spending caps, and responsible gaming tools — offer little long-term effectiveness. Problems do not vanish under prohibition; they merely shift underground.
Counterfeit Operators: The Growing Threat
A growing concern for legitimate international brands like Parimatch is the proliferation of counterfeit gaming platforms in India. Fraudulent operators have replicated well-known gaming brands — including Parimatch, Bet365, and Stake — by cloning websites and apps to mislead consumers.
According to CUTS International, fake gaming platforms, including imitation Parimatch websites, generated more than 5.4 billion visits in fiscal year 2025 — surpassing even some major legitimate online platforms. These counterfeit networks use “clone scripts,” unofficial app stores, and Telegram bots to lure users with fake promotional offers. Despite ongoing law enforcement raids and domain takedowns, efforts remain limited by offshore hosting, anonymous domain registrations, and cryptocurrency transactions. As a result, reputable brands suffer reputational harm, and users remain at risk of fraud and exploitation.
Parimatch and other established operators argue that combatting counterfeit platforms must become a central element of India’s regulatory framework. Without such measures, prohibition and over-taxation will only accelerate the growth of illegal markets.
Parimatch: Regulation as the Foundation of India’s Gaming Future
For Parimatch, the combination of total RMG prohibition and a 28% goods and services tax restricts legitimate business activity while failing to reduce actual player demand. That demand will persist — but will migrate to unregulated and unsafe channels.
Parimatch advocates a comprehensive regulatory framework built on unified national standards, transparent self-regulatory systems (SRBs), algorithmic fairness audits, responsible gaming tools, payment transparency, and robust intellectual property protections.
Such an approach would allow India to preserve jobs, maintain tax revenues, and foster innovation while ensuring player safety and market stability. For international operators like Parimatch, it would also create a predictable environment for investment and long-term growth. Ultimately, Parimatch believes that India’s gaming future depends not on prohibition, but on balanced, transparent regulation — the true cornerstone of a responsible and thriving digital economy.
