Will Dream11, Gameskraft challenge India's new online gaming law in court after ban? What they said

FAntasy gaming hulk Dream11’s parent keep company woolgather Sports and real-money gaming business firm Gameskraft have said they will not contest India’s new online gaming law, which bans all real-money games in the country.“As a responsible and law-abiding corporate entity, Gameskraft has no intention of pursuing any legal challenge to the legislation. We fully respect the legislative process and remain committed to operating within the framework of the law,” a Gameskraft spokesperson said.Gameskraft's statement comes a day after woolgather Sports co-founder Harsh Jain said in an interview that that the company has no plans to oppose the ban. “I think the government has made it clear that they don't want this right now. I don't want to live in the past. We want to focus entirely on the future and not fight with the government on something that they don't want,” Moneycontrol quoted Harsh Jain as saying.Gameskraft said it will now redirect its focus. “We have already initiated structured internal discussions to chart the road ahead. Guided by our core values and full compliance with the new bill, Gameskraft remains committed to constructive dialogue with policymakers and stakeholders, responsible innovation, player protection, and regulatory alignment,” the spokesperson added.Gameskraft said it has paused ‘Add Cash’ and gameplay services on its rummy apps, including RummyCulture, after the law’s passage on August 22. “We want to reassure our users that all account balances remain safe. We are working closely with our financial partners to ensure a smooth and seamless withdrawal process,” the spokesperson said.The company added that it has cleared all regulatory dues and is working with auditors, banks, and legal advisors “to safeguard the interests of employees, partners, vendors, and service providers.”“Compliance has always been non-negotiable for us. While this moment brings challenges, it also brings the opportunity to reimagine what’s next – responsibly, lawfully, and in the interest of long-term value creation for all stakeholders,” the company said.Harsh Jain further said Dream Sports will not resort to layoffs despite being hit by the ban.“95 per cent of Dream11's revenues have disappeared overnight, and 100 per cent of our profits…,” Jain said.Dream Sports has been a major real-money gaming player in India, but it has to close its money-based games after the government banned all forms of online money games.Jain's comments come days after Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, criminalising the offering and financing of such games, with offenders facing up to five years in prison."We are not interested in doing any layoffs. All the talent here is safe," Jain said in the interview.Dream11 has also intimated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India that it won't be able to continue with the title sponsorship of the team as the revenue stream is going to get hit badly."The only way to deal with 95 per cent of your revenue being gone is to build new products that you can monetise in the future. That will always start with talent," Jain said, adding that the company has no plans to challenge the government on the ban.The Mumbai-based company plans to redeploy its 500 engineers and other staff across existing businesses such as FanCode, DreamSetGo, Dream Game Studios and Dream Money, while also working on new AI-driven products for the sports and creator economy."We have sports content, commerce, fan engagement, analytics, sports performance, and merchandise. All of this is going to be disrupted by AI. And now I have 500 engineers whom I can allocate to solving these problems," Jain said. "We will start again to solve these problems for Indian sports fans."Jain asserted that Dream Sports has sufficient cash reserves to retain staff and sustain operations for the next couple of years. In FY23, the company reported operational revenue of ₹6,384.49 crore, up from ₹3,841 crore in FY22.