Gaming
India draws battle lines between esports and online gambling
MUMBAI: India’s Lok Sabha has passed the Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025, creating a stark divide between legitimate esports, casual gaming and what lawmakers term predatory gambling platforms. The legislation, which now heads to the Rajya Sabha, has split the gaming industry down the middle.
Real-money gaming firms are crying foul, claiming the bill sounds their death knell. But esports pioneers are celebrating what they see as long-overdue recognition. Rajen Navani, chairman and managing director of JetLine group, says the cabinet’s approval “is a decisive step that separates esports and social video gaming from wagering-led real money gaming.”
Minister of railways, information & broadcasting and electronics & information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, pulled no punches when tabling the bill. “Online money gaming firms are opaque in nature,” he told parliament. “There are multiple hazards linked to online money gaming. This also impacts national security such as money laundering and terror funding.”
The minister drew a clear distinction between educational esports and what he characterised as destructive gambling platforms. “The government wants to support esports and casual games. We want to protect the interest of society,” Vaishnaw said, urging unanimous passage.
The legislation establishes a central regulatory authority with Rs 50 crore in initial capital expenditure and Rs 20 crore in annual recurring costs. The watchdog will oversee compliance, shape policy and encourage innovation in legitimate gaming.
Crucially, the bill formally recognises esports as competitive sport, promising government backing for training academies, research centres and technology platforms. Social and educational games will receive similar support, with built-in safeguards ensuring age-appropriate content.
For Navani, who pioneered esports in India, the clarity provides “a strong tailwind” that should boost investment in tournaments, infrastructure and jobs.
Real-money gaming operators, however, face an uncertain future as regulators prepare to separate wheat from chaff in India’s booming digital gaming market.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
