Gameskraft lays off 120 employees, cites ‘profound impact’ of new gaming legislation

Online gaming firm Gameskraft on Thursday said it is laying off 120 employees as it navigates new regulatory landscape post the passage of the Online Gaming Bill, 2025.

The implications of this legislation are complex, far-reaching, and have had an immediate and profound impact on the sector and Gameskraft, the company said in a statement.

"The current regulatory landscape has made us completely stop our business and has left us with no choice but to initiate a company-wide restructuring.

"After careful deliberation, as part of this restructuring, we will be, as of now, letting go of about 120 Krafters across teams and functions, a decision we make with a very heavy heart. As the business continues to evolve in response to external realities, further structural changes may be required," it said.

Gameskraft will stand by all impacted employees as per their employment agreements, including leave encashment based on total salary and not just basic salary, the company said.

Group health insurance will stay active until March 2026 or when the affected employees join a new job, whichever is earlier. Employees can convert their group plan to an individual one, and those with dependent parent coverage keep it uninterrupted.

Several companies that were engaged in the real-money gaming business have started laying off the majority of their staff.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, passed by Parliament on August 21, bars all forms of online money games while promoting e-sports and other online games.

The Act seeks to prohibit advertisements related to online money games and bars banks and financial institutions from transferring funds for any of such games.

Earlier this month, Gameskraft filed a police complaint against its former CFO for allegedly siphoning off over Rs 231 crore -- whose write-off led to a decline in the company's FY25 net profit.

The Bengaluru-based firm reported a net profit of Rs 706 crore on a revenue of Rs 4,009 crore in the fiscal year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025). This compares with Rs 947 crore net profit on a revenue of Rs 3,475 crore in the previous year.

The 2024-25 profit was also impacted by "a one-time accounting adjustment of past unsanctioned transactions amounting to approximately Rs 231 crore," it said in a statement.