News Summary

Hike, once a prominent Indian startup with unicorn status, has shut down following India’s recent ban on real-money gaming. Founded by Kavin Bharti Mittal, son of Airtel founder Sunil Bharti Mittal, Hike initially launched as a messaging app rivaling WhatsApp. It later pivoted to real-money gaming with its platform, Rush, which attracted over 10 million users and generated over $500 million in gross revenue. The Indian government’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, has led to the closure of several real-money gaming operations, including Hike, impacting the $23-billion industry significantly. The crackdown has resulted in approximately 2,000 job losses across companies like Games24x7 and MPL. Mittal expressed that while they could raise capital to continue, the effort was not deemed worthwhile. The Supreme Court of India is set to hear petitions challenging the new law.