NEW DELHI: Indian online gaming app Mobile Premier League (MPL) will sack about 60 per cent of its local workforce as part of a major downsizing after the government banned paid games, said a company source with knowledge of the plan, in the first such reaction to a new law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government this month banned online paid games, citing financial and addiction risks especially among youth, leading to a shutdown of many gaming apps offering paid fantasy cricket, rummy and poker games.
The law shocked an Indian industry backed by venture capital firms such as Tiger Global and Peak XV Partners that was set to be worth $3.6 billion by 2029. MPL and rival Dream11 became popular in recent years by offering paid fantasy cricket games that allow winners to receive financial prizes.
The industry says the games rely on skill and therefore are not gambling, which was already highly restricted in India, Reuters reported.
As MPL focuses on free-to-play games and bolsters its business in the US market, the company source said on Sunday it would let go of roughly 300 of its 500 India staff in divisions like marketing, finance, operations, engineering and legal.