India’s gaming company Nazara Technologies has terminated its deal to buy Moonshine Technology — the parent company of online poker platform Pokerbaazi — from I3 Interactive, days after the government prohibited the operation of real-money gaming in the South Asian country.
“…a material adverse effect has occurred due to the prohibition on online real money gaming, including but not limited to real money poker gaming in India,” the company wrote in an exchange filing.
The termination comes exactly a year after Nazara Technologies signed a deal to pick up a 47.7% stake in Moonshine Technology. As part of that deal, the company had agreed to acquire 38,073 fully paid-up equity shares of Moonshine Technology, representing 0.96% of its equity share capital, from I3 Interactive Inc. The deal was valued at around Rs 15.9 crore.
Moonshine Technology is also known to have reduced its workforce by over 200 people, representing nearly 45% of its employees, Moneycontrol reported on Monday. Separately, Indian online gaming app Mobile Premier League (MPL) is also known to have sacked about 60% of its local workforce.
Another gaming company, A23, has challenged the government’s ban on online money-based games, Reuters reported last week, in the first case against a law that led to the sudden shutdown of popular contests and has thrown the industry’s future into doubt.
Shares of Nazara have lost over 17% since the passage of the Online Gaming Bill on Aug 20. The stock closed at Rs 1,152 on Monday.
