How real money gaming ban affects influencer marketing agencies, creators

New Delhi: India is on the verge of a sweeping ban on online real-money gaming (RMG) as the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, clears initial hurdles in Parliament. The bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on August 20, 2025, aims to outlaw all online games involving monetary stakes, citing serious social and financial harms. 

Government data revealed that an estimated 45 crore Indians lose a total of around Rs 20,000 crore every year on such games (fantasy sports, rummy, poker, betting, etc.). Under the proposed law, all real-money online games (defined broadly to include any game where users pay an entry fee or stake with the expectation of winnings) would be completely banned, regardless of whether they are chance-based or “skill-based”.

To enforce this, the bill introduces tough penalties and a new regulatory regime:

• Blanket prohibition: “No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise engage in any online money game,” the bill states, effectively criminalising both the operation of such platforms and any form of promotion or facilitation. This covers advertisements, sponsorships, and even payment processing for these games. Banks and payment gateways would be barred from allowing transactions related to betting/gaming apps.
  

• Stiff penalties: Offering or running online money games could invite up to 3 years of jail and Rs 1 crore fine, while promoting or advertising them (including influencer endorsements) can lead to up to 2 years imprisonment or Rs 50 lakh fine. Repeat offenders face even harsher punishment (up to 5 years jail and Rs 2 crore fines). These provisions mean that not only the operators but also marketing agencies, media platforms, celebrities and social media influencers will be held directly liable if they promote real-money gaming brands.
  

• New regulatory authority: The bill would set up a national Online Gaming Authority to oversee the sector. Permissible categories like e-sports (competitive video gaming without money at stake) and online casual/social games will be registered and encouraged, while policing the ban on money games. This marks a policy of promoting “good” games for skill development and entertainment, while rooting out gambling elements in the online gaming industry.

RMG sector’s massive ad spend and influencer tie-ins

The real-money gaming industry’s rapid rise in India was fueled not just by venture capital and smartphone penetration, but by aggressive marketing and influencer-driven promotions. 

RMG and fantasy sports platforms became one of the biggest spending categories in advertising over the past few years, rivalling top FMCG brands in ad budgets. 

According to industry estimates, annual marketing spend by real-money gaming companies crossed Rs 10,000 crore, placing them among the country’s top advertisers. 

Their ads dominated IPL cricket broadcasts, flooded digital media, and roped in scores of celebrities, contributing to skyrocketing customer acquisition costs in a winner-takes-all race.

Notably, a significant chunk of this advertising blitz ran through influencer marketing and celebrity endorsements. With strict guidelines on traditional gambling ads, these gaming brands turned to popular culture figures and digital creators to build credibility and reach young audiences. 

A few high-profile partnerships illustrate the trend:

• MS Dhoni, the former India cricket captain, became a long-running brand ambassador for Dream11’s fantasy sports platform.
  

• Virat Kohli, the cricket superstar, had a sponsorship deal with MPL, appearing in campaigns for the gaming app.
  

• Bollywood actors, including A-list film stars (from Rana Daggubati to Prakash Raj and others), have fronted ads for poker, rummy and casino apps in recent years, lending glamour to these brands.
  

• Top YouTubers and streamers have been paid handsomely to promote fantasy teams, host RMG tournaments, or integrate betting platform shout-outs in their content. In fact, industry insiders say influencers were often paid 2–3 times their normal rates to advertise gambling platforms, with some signing “long-term deals averaging Rs 50 lakh per month” in payout. Certain gaming promoters offered influencers as high as Rs 2 crore per week for driving traffic to their betting sites. Such eye-popping sums explain why many creators were willing to risk it, despite the ethical grey areas and prior government advisories.

This influencer ecosystem became a lifeline for RMG companies, especially as conventional ad channels imposed restrictions. 

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines mandated prominent disclaimers (“This game involves financial risk and may be addictive…”) and barred targeting minors, while the I&B Ministry issued warnings to TV channels and digital platforms against carrying illegal betting ads. 

Social media influencers, however, operated in a less regulated space – and many betting brands (especially offshore ones) capitalised on this loophole by inking deals directly with creators. 

By mid-2023, it wasn’t uncommon to see Instagram influencers posting referral links to betting apps in their bios or YouTubers casually plugging fantasy sports during cricket season. This all-pervasive presence of RMG promotions on new media is exactly what the new bill seeks to dismantle. 

It explicitly bans any influencer or celebrity endorsements of money games, treating them on par with ads on TV or print. Moreover, such influencers would now face direct legal consequences (including jail time) if they fail to comply. In short, a marketing channel that real-money gaming brands relied on heavily amid advertising curbs is about to vanish overnight.

Influencer agencies and creators brace for revenue loss

The impending ban spells a seismic shake-up for influencer marketing agencies that have been brokering deals between gaming brands and content creators. Over the last few years, many agencies thrived as RMG platforms pumped money into sponsored content, paying influencers to do app reviews, fantasy team line-ups, referral contests, and so on. Now, with all such collaborations outlawed, these agencies are facing an abrupt revenue cliff.

The Indian influencer space grew massively on the back of online gaming and fantasy sports. By sponsoring weekly fantasy leagues or poker challenges, gaming apps ensured that many mid-tier and small creators had a steady stream of paid campaigns. For influencer marketing firms, RMG clients became a mainstay that filled their calendars around big sporting events. Now, that pipeline has run dry.

Almost immediately after the bill’s introduction, campaigns were paused or cancelled en masse.

An example of the hit: one mid-sized influencer agency anticipates losing roughly Rs 20 lakh of revenue per month now that their gaming clients have pulled out. In many cases, content already produced for upcoming promotions can no longer be published, resulting in sunk costs and unpaid bills. For creators, this could translate to a “noticeable dip in income and more uncertainty in ongoing projects.”

Agencies that specialised in gaming promotions are scrambling to realign. “We’re staring at a category vacuum,” admitted one digital agency leader, noting that no other sector is poised to burn marketing cash at the scale of a Dream11 or MPL. 

In the short term, filling the void will be tough, while big spenders in e-commerce, fintech or auto might step up during the festive season, “no one will burn cash at Dream11 levels” to bankroll dozens of creators simultaneously. 

In the influencer marketing industry, RMG was a cash cow that subsidised a lot of other creative work; its sudden removal is forcing belt-tightening. 

Many agencies had even set up dedicated gaming influencer verticals, teams that scouted gaming talent and crafted content strategies around fantasy sports. Those teams now face restructuring, and some staff may be reassigned or let go if new clients aren’t found.

The earnings of individual influencers will also take a hit, especially for those who positioned themselves around gaming content. Top gaming YouTubers and streamers often mix brand deals from fantasy platforms into their income. 

According to industry estimates, a popular RMG-focused content creator could earn Rs 1–1.5 lakh per month just from brand deals, on top of any prize money or affiliate commissions.

Even the superstars aren’t spared – cricket legends and film celebrities are losing a lucrative revenue stream. As per one endorsement agent, top cricketers like Dhoni or Kohli were earning Rs 20–30 crore annually from RMG endorsements alone, far outpacing deals from apparel or FMCG brands. 

That gravy train is now derailed, and while mega-celebs have other sponsors to fall back on, many smaller influencers do not.

Importantly, the new law’s personal liability clause is making creators and agencies extra cautious. Unlike before (when the worst consequence was an ASCI notice or a platform takedown), now an influencer promoting a betting app could face jail. This is prompting an immediate shift in mindset.

Talent management firms are already updating contracts to include morality clauses and legal vetting, essentially ensuring that if a product is in a regulatory grey area, it won’t be pitched to clients. 

“Stars will now demand tighter compliance checks before signing contracts,” notes a report by BestMediaInfo. The influencer marketing industry, which operated rather freely with gaming promotions, will have to develop similar compliance processes.

“Smaller creators who thrived on quick-turnaround paid content will now need to pivot to categories like fintech, e-commerce and non-RMG gaming,” notes the BestMediaInfo analysis. The focus now is on “brand-safe” content – campaigns that won’t suddenly be deemed illegal.

Crucially, the removal of betting promos might also improve the long-term trust quotient of influencer marketing. The RMG boom had brought some unsavoury practices, such as unverified gambling sites partnering with influencers, opaque disclosure of sponsorships, etc. With stricter oversight, agencies are hopeful that the creator economy will mature toward more responsible and sustainable collaborations.