Shares of gaming firm Nazara Applied sciences have plummeted by over 26.65 per cent to Rs 1,063.45 from Rs 1,450 within the final eight periods within the wake of the federal government’s transfer to ban gaming via a invoice handed within the parliament. Rekha Jhunjhunwala, who beforehand held a 7 per cent plus stake within the firm, had absolutely exited her funding in Nazara by June 2025, properly earlier than the ban was introduced.
On Monday, the corporate’s shares fell by 8 per cent to Rs 1,088.40, down 5.83 per cent, within the opening session on the BSE.
In the meantime, in a inventory change submitting, Nazara Tech stated it has no direct publicity to actual cash gaming (RMG) companies. As per its newest reported financials (Q1 FY26), the contribution to revenues and EBITDA by RMG enterprise is nil. The corporate’s solely oblique publicity to RMG is thru its 46.07 per cent stake in Moonshine Applied sciences Personal Ltd (PokerBaazi).
As Nazara doesn’t maintain a majority stake or train management, Moonshine’s income is just not consolidated within the firm’s monetary statements and has no affect on the corporate’s reported income or EBITDA, it stated. The corporate has invested Rs 805 crore in the direction of fairness shares in Moonshine via a mixture of money and inventory and, as well as, holds obligatory convertible shares amounting to Rs 255 crore, it stated.
In one other change submitting, the corporate stated Moonshine Applied sciences has ceased providing actual cash on-line gaming operations.
The Promotion and Regulation of On-line Gaming Act, 2025 imposes a nationwide ban on all real-money on-line video games, whereas actively encouraging the expansion of e-sports and academic or socially helpful gaming. The regulation introduces strict regulatory controls and harsh penalties for violations, with the aim of tackling dependancy, monetary abuse, and prison exercise inside the digital gaming area.
Jhumnjhunwala sells stake forward of ban
Rekha Jhunjhunwala utterly offloaded her stake in Nazara Applied sciences by June 2025, properly forward of the federal government ban on on-line gaming. As of March 2025, she held a 7.06 per cent stake—about 61.8 lakh shares. By June, she had offered her whole holding at a median worth of round Rs 1,225 per share, netting round Rs 334 crore.
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Her late husband, investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, as soon as owned 10.82 per cent within the firm. Rekha stays a giant investor in Indian markets, with investments in 25 listed corporations price round Rs 40,000 crore, in keeping with market estimates.
Different distinguished buyers nonetheless holding stakes in Nazara embrace Madhusudan Kela, who owns 10.96 lakh shares (1.18 per cent), and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, who holds 15.04 lakh shares (1.62 per cent) via Kamath Associates.
With regulatory scrutiny mounting, all eyes are actually on whether or not these influential buyers will maintain their floor, or start reducing publicity.
Nazara Applied sciences was based in 1999 and listed in 2021. It’s amongst India’s first gaming corporations to make a worldwide mark, with presence in markets comparable to Africa and North America. The corporate has a market capitalisation of round Rs 10,000 crore.
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