New Delhi: The recent ban on real-money gaming (RMG) in India is expected to hit the revenue growth of payment gateway firms by up to 15 per cent. The government’s new regulations bar e-sports companies from offering money-based games, prompting a suspension of RMG operations.
As a result, digital transaction volumes in the country could shrink by at least Rs 30,000 crore this year.
Media reports suggest the biggest impact will be on smaller, gaming-focused payment providers, while larger gateways may see only a partial slowdown due to their diversified business portfolios.
Almost 80 per cent of the affected transactions would have been processed via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) under normal circumstances. A business executive familiar with the matter noted that this directly affects UPI’s monthly transaction volume by around 2 per cent and its total transaction value by about 0.5 per cent.
Data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) highlights the significance of gaming-related digital payments. In July alone, 35.1 crore payments (2.8 per cent of UPI’s total volume) were made under the digital Goods: Games category, amounting to Rs 10,077 crore—or 1.38 per cent of UPI’s monthly value.
Following the ban, UPI is projected to lose roughly 25 crore transactions each month, valued at about Rs 5,040 crore.
Major payment gateways with significant exposure to the RMG sector, including Razorpay, PayU, and Cashfree, are expected to face pressure on earnings. However, these larger firms are likely to be less affected than niche gaming-only companies, given their strong presence in other industries.
India’s online real-money gaming market, valued at an estimated $25 billion, generates over Rs 31,000 crore annually and contributes nearly Rs 20,000 crore in taxes. The regulatory crackdown therefore has wide-ranging implications for the digital payments ecosystem, beyond just gaming companies.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025—which imposes strict limits on money-based online gaming platforms—was signed into law by President Droupadi Murmu, a day after Parliament passed it.
Under the new rules, providers of such services face fines of up to Rs 1 crore and imprisonment of up to three years. Those promoting or advertising these platforms can be penalized with fines of Rs 50 lakh and up to two years in jail.
With inputs from IANS