WPT Global Exits India: The End of Real-Money Online Poker?

WPT Global, one of the largest online poker sites globally, will halt service to Indian players by September 30. This decision comes in response to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which bans all real-money online games nationwide. The bill, passed in August, has led to the shutdown of nearly every major online poker site in India, including PokerBaazi, PokerStars India, Junglee Poker, Adda52, Natural8, Spartan Poker, and MPL Poker, which all switched off real-money games within days of the bill's passage.

The swift legislative push has been criticized by industry giants like Flutter, the parent company of PokerStars India and Junglee Poker. Flutter sharply criticized the speed of the legislative push and warned that the ban would drive players to unregulated sites. Some Indian platforms have pivoted to free-to-play modes in response to the new law. PokerStars India and Junglee Poker are running free-entry events with electronic prizes, while PokerBaazi has kept its client online without real-money stakes, positioning it as a practice environment.

WPT Global’s exit marks the end of a deep poker relationship with India. The World Poker Tour brand has run multiple live festivals in the country and closed India’s biggest live series at the time. In late 2024, WPT announced a “special partnership” with PokerBaazi, which delivered WPT-branded online tournaments, online satellites into live WPT stops, and international package pathways for Indian qualifiers. The broader international landscape had already thinned, with 888poker leaving India in 2020 and Unibet exiting in early 2024. PartyPoker historically did not take Indian registrations, and GGPoker’s Natural8, which launched a dedicated India client in 2023, also shut with the new law.