MAM
Spartan Poker unveils its new brand identity
NEW DELHI: Digital gaming platform, Spartan Poker, has unveiled its new brand identity with a redesigned logo and a tagline. ‘Straight Up Skill’, the new visual identity is designed to represent Spartan Poker as a platform that encourages skill as the biggest equaliser in the game of poker.
The new brand visual identity includes a Golden Spartan Helmet mask that is a nod to Spartan Poker’s community and has played a big role in the company’s ongoing success. The new, bold and vibrant logo in Golden colour embodies the characteristics of the intellectual and skilled player, the press statement added.
Speaking on the refreshed identity Spartan Poker founder and MD Amin Rozani said, “The rebranding is an exciting change for Spartan Poker. This initiative will convey the continuing evolution and philosophy of the brand, and proudly highlight the approach we want to communicate about the brand.”
On the rebranding, Blink Digital co-founder Rikki Aggarwal founder, “We started with primary research to gauge audience sentiment. Based on our analysis, we redefined every facet of the Spartan core identity, creating a framework for a distinct visual and verbal manifestation. Finally, seeing the rise of online gaming globally, we rose to the occasion to elevate the experience for customers in a bold and contemporary way, reinforcing their belief in skill as the ultimate equaliser in poker and in society. Think: #StraightUpSkill in straight-up style.”
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
