- The Core
- Posts
- When Gaming Tests Middle Class Values
When Gaming Tests Middle Class Values
In partnership with
Good Morning. There is a lot of discussion and debate on India’s ban on online money gaming. Many companies are quickly pivoting to other strategies and many investors are in a state of frenzy. Many question why the government let the industry grow so large before putting a pin in it. But a gambling addiction can be devastating to youth and goes against middle class values.
In other news, more trouble awaits businessman Anil Ambani as another top public sector bank has declared Reliance Communications’ loan accounts fraudulent. Meanwhile, first-time borrowers cannot get their loans rejected only because they lack credit history.
THE TAKE
Middle Class Values Clash With Venture-Funded Dreams
Last year, as I was driving through South Delhi on my way to the airport, I noticed randomly stuck posters with images of BJP leader Vijay Goel and a bilingual slogan that simply said ‘Ban Online Gaming’.
Goel has held several positions, including as a minister of youth affairs & sports in previous BJP-led governments and is fairly active in Delhi on city issues; most recently on stray dogs.
The posters struck me as somewhat unusual.
Not so much because of the issue they raised, but he was calling out his own government. An act not easily forgiven in India’s centralised political party systems.
Yet, by all accounts, he laboured on.
Don’t Tell Mamma, ‘Cause Mamma Don’t Know
Last November, after he launched the poster campaign and staged a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, he wrote a letter to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, pleading for online gaming to be banned.
Goel argued that many youngsters were taking loans for these games, and the repeated losses were leading them into debt traps. In extreme cases, they even led to suicide. Parents were mostly unaware that their children were engaging in gambling, not gaming, he said, hitting out at film actors and cricketers who promoted these apps.
Swift And In A ‘Stealth Mode’
Did Goel’s untiring efforts lead to the dramatic passing of the Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025, which criminalises the online gaming industry in one shot?
Possible, but typically in such political actions, there could be several other factors known and unknown, which led to the final stroke or bill.
Incidentally, thirty years ago, Goel won another similar battle, this time against ‘single digit’ lotteries, which formed a bulk of lotteries at the time, as part of a broader campaign.
What is quite clear, as I discovered over the weekend, was that the coming of the bill was not known to most — including some of the highest echelons of India’s banking system who now stand to be penalised if such transactions were allowed.
The bill was a surprise — for the stealth with which it was introduced and the speed with which it was passed, including the President of India’s assent after the lower and upper houses cleared it. All in around 48 hours.
What triggered the move to bring down the Rs 20,000 crore per annum industry, which also creates thousands of jobs, and swells the tax kitty?
As per the Government’s own statement, the legislation is designed to curb addiction, financial ruin and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth.
It also points to a money laundering angle. It is however careful to distinguish real money gaming from other forms of gaming like E-sports and what it calls social gaming — both of which it wants to promote and encourage.
The question that comes up is —- why did the government move on this and so suddenly? The arguments for allowing real money gaming have been known - the industry remains legitimate under the government’s watch. It also prevents money from moving offshore via betting platforms — mostly for cricket — via cryptocurrencies, for example.
The government’s view, stated or otherwise, is that it knows that and has taken a social and perhaps moral call.
I would call it a middle class values-based decision.
Swiping Away Savings
Goel could have had a personal reason for sticking to the issue of gambling, as he has seen it for decades; and even went solo on his protests.
I would argue that most middle class parents in India would think the same as Goel. No one would like their children to swipe away their family savings on slick betting apps, quite literally on the dinner tables.
Instead of building their lives and careers.
Like all techno-social booms, gambling apps have crept up and become larger than life before we knew it.
Unlisted Dream11 was valued at Rs 67,860 crore as per the 2025 Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 list whose value went up 13% year on year due to increasing engagement. When something is as big and ubiquitous as a jersey sponsor for the Indian cricket team, the greater the acquired legitimacy of the brands, in this case Dreams11.
The lack of clear regulation in this sector also led to billions of dollars of venture capital money flow into the sector.
Should venture capitalists have thought twice before investing in an area with opaque regulation? Actually, that is precisely the area they would invest in, hoping size and brazen advertising would force regulation in their favour.
But unlike ride hailing apps like Uber or Ola, which also test most countries’ regulatory frameworks, there is no middle class value question at hand.
In this case there is.
The government has evidently taken a call that values are under threat here. The term middle class, by the way is mine, and used for its social and not economic import, though it could mean both.
More importantly, this is also a lesson for businesses and ventures in general, which are set up in a manner that could militate against India’s middle class values.
In changing times, no response is immediate because a values ecosystem takes time to process the true impact of something, first financial and then social.
With hundreds of thousands of crores lost in derivatives trading and real money gaming by mostly young Indian youth, a snapping point was bound to come.
MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Kickstart your holiday campaigns
CTV should be central to any growth marketer’s Q4 strategy. And with Roku Ads Manager, launching high-performing holiday campaigns is simple and effective.
With our intuitive interface, you can set up A/B tests to dial in the most effective messages and offers, then drive direct on-screen purchases via the remote with shoppable Action Ads that integrate with your Shopify store for a seamless checkout experience.
Don’t wait to get started. Streaming on Roku picks up sharply in early October. By launching your campaign now, you can capture early shopping demand and be top of mind as the seasonal spirit kicks in.
Get a $500 ad credit when you spend your first $500 today with code: ROKUADS500. Terms apply.
CORE NUMBER
Rs 53,000 crore
This is how much real estate sales revenue India’s 28 listed real estate players generated in the first quarter of FY26. The sales data indicate that big branded players are continuing to see good home sales, even as the sector enters its fourth year of its upcycle. Since the pandemic, Indians’ preference has shifted to premium and luxury homes, which realty majors specialise in. Prestige Estates occupied the coveted numero uno position for the quarter.
Here is how much sales top five players generated in Q1:
Prestige Estates: Rs 12,126.4 crore
DLF: Rs 11,425 crore
Godrej Properties: Rs 7,082 crore
Lodha Developers: Rs 4,450 crore
Signature Global: Rs 2,640 crore
Mid-sized and regional players like Sobha Developers and Omaxe Realty clocked in sales of around Rs 2,000 crore each. Oberoi Realty, Kalpataru and Purvankara generated sales of around Rs 1,000 crore each.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
RCom Account Fraud Says BOI
Bank of India (BOI) classified the now-insolvent Reliance Communications’ loan account as fraudulent, as per an exchange filing on August 24. It also cited the former director of the company, Anil Ambani for alleged fund diversion. BOI had granted a Rs 700 crore loan to RCom in 2016 for capex, opex and repayment of liabilities. But half of it was put in a fixed deposit, which is not permitted.
The Context: This June, State Bank of India (SBI) too declared the account fraudulent, for violating the terms of the loan, and misappropriation of funds. As per the law, when an account is declared fraudulent, it must be referred to enforcement agencies for criminal action. Following SBI’s complaint, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the company’s premises, including Ambani’s residence, on Saturday (August 23).
Backstory: Once a flagship company of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), RCom shut operations in 2017 after around 13 years of operations. It filed for bankruptcy in 2019, after debt piled up due to aggressive expansion, shift to GSM technology from the CDMA business, as well as expensive licence fees amidst a tariff war between many players in the early 2010s. Anil Ambani’s elder brother Mukesh Ambani had bailed him out by paying Rs 580 crore to equipment maker Ericsson in 2018, on the verge of a prison sentence. RCom was later sold to the elder brother in 2022.
Govt’s Measures To Ease Tariff Sting
The government is considering providing exporters with support measures to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore, PTI said, quoting sources. These measures would be a part of the Export Promotion Mission, and last for six financial years from 2025 to 2031. The programme was announced during the Budget to provide affordable credit for the sector.
What’s Next? As per the sources, the commerce ministry sent the proposal to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EPC) of the finance ministry. If the EPC approves the proposal, the commerce ministry would approach the Union Cabinet.
Why It Matters: These measures are expected to ease the tariff burden to hit exporters and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSME) in particular. Even if the additional 25% penalty over Russian oil is not applied, they’d still be saddling a base 25% tariff — which can eat into their margins if not business.
No CIBIL Score, No Worry
First-time borrowers who do not have a Credit Information Bureau (CIBIL) score will not be denied solely for the lack of it, the Ministry of Finance clarified. The minister of state for finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said that the central bank has instructed banks and other lenders that a loan application cannot be rejected due to a lack of credit history.
Flashpoint: Credit scores are necessary to ascertain a borrower’s creditworthiness and mostly measure their loan repayment history, amongst other things. With low penetration of loans in India, a rising number of young borrowers as well as financial inclusion — the absolute need for a credit history becomes a roadblock for many.
Outcome: History is not the only way to assess a person’s creditworthiness. Income, employment status, stability in employment and many other non-traditionals can be used to predict if a person is capable of repaying a loan on time.
MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Daily News for Curious Minds
Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 4 million Americans find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight. Subscribe to 1440 today.
AI You’ll Actually Understand
Cut through the noise. The AI Report makes AI clear, practical, and useful—without needing a technical background.
Join 400,000+ professionals mastering AI in minutes a day.
Stay informed. Stay ahead.
No fluff—just results.
THE TEAM
✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Kudrat Wadhwa | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas
🤝 Reach 80k+ CXOs? Partner with us.
✉️ Got questions or feedback? Reach out.
💰 Like The Core? Support us.
