'In one shot, we killed a sector that pumped Rs 27,000 crore in GST': Mittal on Gaming Bill banning Dream11

Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com and Shark Tank India judge, criticised the recently passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which bans real-money online games, including Dream11 and WinZO. 

Advertisment

In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, Mittal said the move will cost India significant revenue while pushing players to illegal markets.

“In one shot, we killed a sector that pumped in Rs 27,000 crore of GST annually, drove Rs 10,000 crore of ad revenue, and gave thousands a legit livelihood in games of skill,” Mittal wrote.

He argued that while addiction concerns are real, bans often fail to solve the problem. “Fair concerns, but do we ban alcohol because some become alcoholics? Do we ban stock trading because some blow up their savings?”

Mittal warned that most bans have similar outcomes: government loses revenue, users lose protection, and black markets thrive. He pointed to India’s estimated Rs 8.3 lakh crore illegal gaming market, suggesting the ban could strengthen unregulated operators.

“This feels like we’ve shot ourselves in the foot,” he added, while expressing hope that the move might eventually boost regulated gaming and e-sports in India.

“But let’s be honest, right now it looks like moral policing dressed up as policy. Hope we’re not trying to out-ban China,” Mittal added.

Netizen reactions

Mittal's post sparked a wave of reactions. Many people took to the comment section to share their views on the latest Gaming Bill 2025.

“We Eliminated a sector which destroyed Millions of families every year,” a user wrote.

“Bans rarely solve problems, they just shift them elsewhere,” another noted.

“Real-money games should never have existed in the first place. However much we try to justify, they were 99% chance and hardly 1% skill. Without a blanket ban companies would have kept finding loopholes. We have far bigger problems to solve. That said, it’s hard not to feel for the talented people who built their careers in this space,” a third expressed.

“Alcohol and trading can’t be compared with gambling. Trading drives capital formation, alcohol has social acceptance—but gambling creates no value, only loss. Calling its ban “moral policing” ignores the massive social and economic damage it fuels,” a fourt said.

“The ban on real-money gaming isn't just moral policing. It's a necessary intervention to protect the most vulnerable in our society. We can't simply apply the same logic as we do to alcohol or stock trading, which, while having their own issues, are not designed with the same predatory psychological triggers as many of these games. They are designed to exploit human psychology for profit, often leading to devastating financial and personal consequences,” a fifth added.