After MPL, PokerBaazi To Sack 50% Of Its Workforce

SUMMARY

Moonshine Technology, the operator of PokerBaazi has started laying off employees and the number of impacted employees can go up to 50% of its workforce

In a separate report it was mentioned that the creator of PokerBaazi has sacked 200 employees

PokerBaazi has become the second startup to resort to layoffs, after MPL, following the ban on RMG

Nazara Technologies-backed Moonshine Technology, which operated PokerBaazi, has started laying off its employees following the ban on real money gaming (RMG) in India.

Sources told Inc42 that the startup has started cutting its workforce and the number of impacted employees can go up to 50%.

A separate report by Storyboard18 said that the creator of PokerBaazi has sacked 200 employees.

Inc42 has sent a questionnaire to Moonshine Technology on the development. The story will be updated on receiving the responses.

With this, Moonshine Technology has become the second startup to resort to layoffs following the ban on RMG. Earlier, it was reported that gaming unicorn MPL is also sacking about 60% of their staff in India.

The development also comes after Nazara decided to not take up an additional stake in Moonshine Technology. Nazara had entered into a definitive agreement with Moonshine Technology to acquire a 47.7% stake in it for INR 831.5 Cr via a secondary transaction.

Currently, Nazara owns 46.07% stake in Moonshine Technology with a total investment of INR 805 Cr in the latter.

Founded in 2014 by Navkiran Singh, Puneet Singh, Anirudh Chaudhry, Avneet Rana and Varun Ganjoo, Moonshine Technology’s flagship product was online poker platform PokerBaazi.

The startup also provided other card games like Rummy and callbreak under its CardBaazi gaming platform.

Moonshine Technology discontinued its RMG operations after the passage of the online gaming bill.

Mayhem At Real Money Gaming Startups

The abrupt ban on RMG operations has resulted in major players like Dream11, Gameskraft, A23, Games 24×7, Junglee Rummy, discontinuing their paid games, which were the main source of revenue for these startups. This is likely to result in thousands of employees at these startups losing their jobs.

Meanwhile, Head Digital Works, the parent of A23, has challenged the RMG ban in the Karnataka High Court. However, other players have decided not to take the legal route and are looking at various options to sustain their businesses.

For instance, Dream Sports has decided to focus on scaling its online streaming platform FanCode and redeploying its resources, especially in the AI segment. The company has also ventured into investment tech with the launch of Dream Money.

WinZO has pivoted to the short video segment by rolling out its short video feature called ZO TV. Additionally, the platform will take its online gaming offering to the US market.

Others like Zupee and Gameskraft have moved to free-to-play offerings.

With Inputs From Gargi Sarkar