A ban on digital betting in India has prompted Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment to halt operations there.
Flutter owns Junglee in India, where customers can play poker, rummy and other skill-based games on-line for cash.
However, the group stopped “real money gaming” on August 22nd after the country’s parliament last week banned all such games in a bill passed within days of its introduction.
The move comes weeks after it paid €57 million on July 18th to complete its take over of the business. Flutter paid €55 million for 50.1 per cent in 2021.
READ MORE
Dublin-based, New York-listed Flutter said on Monday that it was weighing options to restore a “70-year-old constitutional protection afforded to skill-based games”.
It is simultaneously working to adapt operations to the changed law and continuing to promote the benefit of fully regulated on-line gaming, it added.
Flutter calculated that its Indian operations would contribute about $50 million (€43 million) in cash and $200 million in revenue this year.
Peter Jackson, chief executive, said he was “extremely disappointed” with the sudden legal change.
“Over the last four years Junglee has invested significantly in its local market, building a workforce of over 1,100 employees to deliver innovative skill-based gaming products to Indian customers,“ he pointed out.
Mr Jackson noted that the company’s strategy prioritised customer protection and responsible gaming.
“We believe this change will drive customers to the unregulated market, offering limited consumer protections and providing no contribution to the local economy,” he warned.
Mr Jackson stressed that Flutter believed in regulations that put customers first and said it was evaluating options to restore skill-based games to India.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill won the backing of legislators in the Indian parliament’s upper house, along with presidential assent, on Friday August 22nd. The law was introduced to parliament two days before.
