MPL Layoff: Due to the government ban on online money games, there is going to be a large scale layoff in the gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL). Due to this shock, about 480 i.e. 80% of MPL’s employees working in India may be laid off.
Know which employees of MPL will be affected by this layoff and what is the company’s strategy?
MPL Layoff: The government has banned real money games. Its effect will now be seen on the jobs of employees as well. Gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) is going to lay off 60-80% of its employees in India. The company’s co-founder Sai Srinivas has given this information to the employees in an internal memo. This layoff can affect up to 480 employees. Currently it has around 500-600 employees. The sword of layoff will fall on the company’s policy, marketing, finance, operations, engineering and legal team. Moneycontrol has received this information from sources.
Earlier in August 2023, the company had a large-scale layoff when 350 of its employees were shown the way out on the recommendations of the GST Council. The GST Council at that time recommended a 28% tax on all types of real-money games, whether games of skill or chance. This system came into effect from October 2023.
Now what is the plan of MPL?
MPL co-founder Sai Srinivas has told the employees that MPL Group used to get half of M-League’s revenue i.e. 50% from India but now due to the new law, it will not get any revenue from India. Sai Srinivas says that this is a big setback, and now the company will have to work hard to find a new business model for MPL in India. Let us tell you that according to the new online gaming law of the country, online money games have been banned. After the bill was approved by the Parliament on August 22, all real-money gaming companies including MPL stopped all money games on their platforms. However, free-to-play games are still running.
The company plans not to challenge the government’s ban on real-money games. The company has also advised industry body All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) not to legally challenge the government’s decision. According to information received by Moneycontrol from sources, the company has advised the federation to focus on free-to-play games. MPL is a member of the federation.
Srinivas told the employees that some companies are challenging the government’s decision but MPL believes that any relief from the courts, even if it is received, will be received only after a long process. He also said that even if such relief is received, there is no guarantee that the business will survive in India, so it would be best to accept it and move forward. Let us tell you that apart from MPL, many companies including Dream11’s parent company Dream Sports, Gameskraft, Zoopee and PokerBaazi’s parent company Moonshine Technology have accepted the government’s decision, on the other hand, Head Digital Works, the company of online rummy platform A23 Rummy, has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court. The next hearing of the case is to be held on 8 September.
How is the business health of MPL?
MPL was started in the year 2018 by Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra. The company claims to have more than 90 million registered users across Asia, Europe and North America. After raising $150 million in September 2021, MPL was valued at around $2.3 billion and also entered the unicorn club. Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India) and RTP Global have invested in it. It owns European card and board game studio GameDuell. Also in the year 2022, it started mobile gaming studio Mayhem Studios, which raised around $20 million from investors like Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Truecaller and Hashed Emergent in the year 2023 and also received funding from gaming and interactive media-focused venture fund Lumikai in July 2024.
Talking about the financial health of MPL, its revenue jumped 22% year-on-year to $130 million in FY24. It also achieved break-even with an operating profit of $2 million. Apart from India, the company also has a presence in North America, Africa and Europe. In FY24, about 31% of its revenue came from foreign markets.
