Mobile Premier League
India-based real-money mobile gaming app now shut out of its home market by law.
On the record
Checkpoint: Karnataka High Court ruling on A23's legal challenge to the gaming ban
The call
MPL's Indian business was legislated out of existence in 2025, leaving an unproven international pivot as its only path forward.
Mobile Premier League ran a real-money online gaming platform in India where people competed in skill-based games for cash prizes. The Indian government passed a law in 2025 that criminalized this business, wiping out half the company's revenue overnight. MPL is now trying to expand to the US, Brazil, and Africa through licensing deals, but those markets already have established competitors like DraftKings and FanDuel, and there is nothing stopping those companies from doing exactly what MPL does. The one thing that could save the company is if India's courts overturn the gaming ban in an upcoming legal case, which would bring back the profitable business that made MPL valuable in the first place.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI product competition isn't what's hurting MPL; India's new gaming law, not any AI rival, killed its core business. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Indian government, under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. The law banned real-money online gaming outright, and MPL's own co-founder told staff India revenue would go from 50% of the group to zero. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. A non-India user base and roughly 31% of prior revenue from outside India give it something to build on, though none of it is proven at scale yet.
What would change this call
Karnataka High Court or Supreme Court ruling on the A23 legal challenge to the ban. A reversal would reopen MPL's core India market; a loss would confirm it stays shut.
MPL discloses US, Brazil, or Africa revenue figures at scale (e.g. $150-200M annualized). Would show the international pivot is replacing lost India revenue.
MPL announces a new funding round or valuation update. Would signal investor confidence after nearly five years without a disclosed round.
MPL discloses US, Brazil, or Africa revenue figures at scale (e.g. $150-200M annualized). Would show the international pivot is replacing lost India revenue.
MPL announces a new funding round or valuation update. Would signal investor confidence after nearly five years without a disclosed round.
Key numbers
- India was 50% of group revenue, set to hit zero
- FY25 group revenue ~$132M, ~$106M from India
- No new funding round since $150M Series E in 2021
Named risks
- India's 2025 Online Gaming Act permanently removed roughly 50% of group revenue.
- Conflicting reports of 60% to 90-100% India workforce cuts signal unresolved restructuring.
- No new funding or valuation update disclosed since September 2021.
- International expansion into US, Brazil, Africa is unproven at scale as of mid-2026.
- MPL chose not to legally challenge the ban, ceding legal initiative to rival A23.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Dream11 | contesting | Both hit by Aug 2025 ban; Dream11 pivoting to FanCode and Dream Money by Apr 2026 |
| Games24x7 | contesting | Also cut staff after Aug 2025 ban while holding a $2.5B 2022 valuation |
| A23 | losing to | A23 filed Karnataka High Court challenge to the ban; MPL declined to join legal fight, Sept 2025 |
| WinZO | gaining on | WinZO exited India RMG and pivoted to US short-video product Zo TV post-ban, Sept 2025 |
| Kalshi and Polymarket | gaining on | US prediction-market firms reportedly pursuing India entry despite the ban as of May 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Mobile Premier League profitable in 2026?
- No profitability update has been disclosed since FY23, when MPL posted $104.6M revenue and a $37M net loss (year ended March 2023). India's real-money gaming ban, effective May 1, 2026, wiped out roughly half of group revenue, making a 2026 profit unlikely.
- What happened to Mobile Premier League after India's gaming ban?
- After India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act took effect (signed Aug 22, 2025), MPL suspended all real-money gaming in India, shut its MPL Opinio product, and cut roughly 60% of its ~500-600 India staff by September 2025, per Moneycontrol and Times of India.
- Who owns Mobile Premier League?
- MPL is privately held and VC-backed, last valued at $2.3B in a September 2021 Series E ($150M) led by Legatum Capital with Sequoia Capital, Peak XV, RTP Global and others. No new funding round has been disclosed since then, as of July 2026.
- Could AI replace Mobile Premier League's business?
- MPL's core business was not displaced by AI but by law: India's 2025 Online Gaming Act criminalized real-money skill gaming, cutting an estimated 50% of group revenue by August 2025. AI mainly threatens MPL's commoditized casual free-to-play titles going forward.
- Who is Mobile Premier League's biggest competitor?
- Dream11 (Dream Sports), India's dominant fantasy-sports platform valued near $8B, faced the same 2025 ban and is pivoting to FanCode and a fintech product called Dream Money, making it MPL's closest and most-watched peer as of April 2026.
- Will Mobile Premier League survive India's gaming ban?
- MPL chose not to legally challenge the ban and is instead pivoting to international real-money and skill-gaming markets in the US, Brazil, and Africa via a Carry1st licensing deal, a strategy reported by Inc42 on July 24, 2025, but unproven at scale.
Timeline
- 2026-05-01India's Online Gaming Act enforcement begins, Online Gaming Authority of India established
- 2026-02-10Legal analysis states MPL and Dream11 valuations plummeted post-ban
- 2025-09-16Industry-wide real-money gaming layoffs reach roughly 2,000 across firms
- 2025-09-02Mashable, Storyboard18 report up to ~700 MPL India staff (nearly all) cut
- 2025-09-01Times of India reports MPL to lay off 60% of India staff
- 2025-08-31Co-founder tells staff India was 50% of group revenue, MPL Opinio shut down
- 2025-08-22Online Gaming Act signed, MPL suspends all real-money gaming in India
- 2025-08-21Indian Parliament passes bill banning real-money online gaming
- 2023-08MPL lays off 350 employees after 28% GST-on-deposits ruling
- 2021-09-15MPL raises $150M Series E at $2.3B valuation, led by Legatum Capital
Revision history
29 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- India's new gaming law bans real-money play (2026-02-10)
- India's MPL to sack 60% of local staff after paid gaming ban, source says (2025-09-17)
- Mobile Premier League (MPL), Funding, Investors & Company Profile (2026-07-18)
- As Indian Mobile Gaming Goes Global, MPL's Focus Turn Beyond India (2025-07-24)
- MPL to significantly downsize its India workforce after govt's real-money gaming ban (2025-08-31)
- Mobile Premier League (2026-06-15)
- MPL's latest funding almost triples its valuation to $2.3 billion (2021-09-15)
- Customer Segments, Revenue & Value Proposition (2026-07-20)
- Mobile Premier League (2025-02-23)
- Online gaming app ban: MPL to layoff 60% of India Staff (2025-09-01)
- MPL, PokerBaazi, Games24x7 Lay Off Hundreds (2025-09-02)
- Dream11, Games24x7, MPL hit as parliament clears bill to ban real-money gaming (2025-08-21)