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India looks like a totally different scene in 2025 as far as the online betting scenario is concerned. With a new national law that restricts or outright bans real-money online gaming the country many household names were forced to pivot, scale back, or offshore operations. The victors are those who adapted fastest and either preserved user trust or found legal ways to sidestep restrictions via ads, free-to-play, or non-cash products.
Here’s a detailed review of who’s holding ground and why.
Market shake-up: Why 2025 is different
The Bill for the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming brought significant changes in 2025. Many varieties of real money gaming were tightened or outright banned, while new regulations were imposed on how platforms can advertise and sponsor sports. The Indian government clearly signals that excessive gambling would not be tolerated. Thus, this legislation with strict enforcement was meant to cover practically all fantasy platforms, poker, rummy, and skill-plus-stake games operating throughout India.
Top gaming companies had to change their plans or lose out on one of the world’s fastest-growing betting markets.
The immediate losers (and why)
Paid contest fantasy giants suffered one of the worst impacts. According to a report in Money Control, platforms that dominated cricketing sponsorships, especially during the IPL, had to take down real money contest offers in India.
Most companies chose to comply and shifted their business models, although some considered taking legal action. This led to a steep fall in real-money gaming activities and a race to retain huge user bases built over the last 10 years.
The winners
Despite the shake-up, many companies were victorious by pursuing one of three strategies.
1. Pivot to free-to-play and advertising revenue
Websites that had a lot of people using them daily scrambled to market their product as ‘free contests with sponsored prizes’. Rather than charging admissions, they now rely on advertising and brand sponsorships for revenue. This approach keeps users engaged while fully complying with the new regulations.
Companies such as Dream11 have aimed to increase this form of advertisement to hopefully get to major companies that can make more deals possible. Industry trackers on Wincomparator.com have observed that new free appeals have been one of the successful ways that gaming platforms have gotten and kept more attention and users in 2025's intense market.
2. Geographic diversification
Some firms quickly turned to international markets to where real-money gaming is still legal. They became less reliant on Indian revenue by expanding operations to Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Their business operations diversified and they made money even when their Indian operations shut down. For some, revenue generated outside of Australia is now the principal focus of business, rather than a secondary stream.
3. Offshore sportsbooks and crypto-friendly operators
The growth of an offshore bookmaker's parallel market is rapid. Through odds markets that are not available domestically, these foreign-licensed platforms continue to attract Indian users.
Many of these apps are friendly to crypto or support alternate payment systems, which makes them user-friendly for pros. However, the legal exposure in India may differ from state to state and customer protection may not be guaranteed.
App features that mattered in 2025
With regulation squeezing margins, product excellence became a competitive edge. The platforms that thrived focused on.
· Rapid updates and high reliability during events.
· The stronger KYC and responsible-gaming processing compliance towards stricter rules.
· Payment flows that show how money moves, including deposit via UPI or crypto, where permitted.
· Payment processors that have reliable customer support for refund issues or regulatory changes.
Users responded very well to those apps that were very clear about the changes being made to laws, promotions, and withdrawal of their app.
Trust and compliance: The new competitive moat
In the year 2025, a major difference between platforms was who updated their terms regularly, stopped promoting things they are not allowed to, and engaged their users to let them know what they can and cannot do as per the law. This made users trust these platforms more than those who tried to operate in a grey area of the law and did not stop promoting many things.
Regulators also cracked down on misleading sponsorships. Amid growing scrutiny, firms have changed or dumped major sports partnerships to reduce legal risks. It became more profitable for operators to go legit rather than make quick bucks.
Who to watch
v Dream11 and Dream Sports - This group is pivoting to free-to-play and advertising revenue that will use its large active user base for relevance, given the real money ban.
v MPL, also known as mobile premier league, is a firm reducing manpower in India and looking to explore new monetization models as well as new markets.
v Offshore sportsbooks and crypto operators, like 1xBet or Stake, continue to garner Indian users, but this comes with regulatory and payment-related risks. Their increasing popularity indicates that there’s a demand for traditional betting markets within India.
2025 completely reshaped the entire landscape of online betting in India. Having the flashiest app or biggest sponsorship deal doesn’t determine success anymore. It’s all about legal agility, customer trust, product quality, and smart monetization.
India’s next chapter in online betting is being shaped by the rapid pivoting of ad-supported, expanded geography, and top-rated compliance platforms. Those who did not adapt have already begun to make their exit.