New bill riles online gaming; De minimis blow to Indian exports

Happy Wednesday! A new bill proposing a ban on real-money games has ruffled indusattempt feathers. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Kissht DRHP
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Enterprise tech sales

Cabinet approves bill to ban real money in online games

Social gaming platform WinZo is taking Google to court_Google Play store Policy update_online gaming platform_THUMB IMAGE_ETTECH_1

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a draft bill to regulate India’s booming online gaming and e-sports indusattempt. With Cabinet approval secured, the bill is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Driving the news: The bill marks a decisive relocate to prohibit real-money online gaming. It introduces sweeping measures – banning not only the games themselves, but also ads promoting them and financial transactions enabling such gameplay.

But why?

According to the draft note presented to the Cabinet, the unchecked rise of online money games has led to “addiction, debt traps, suicides and mental health issues.”
The government also flagged fraud risks and national security threats linked to these platforms.
At the same time, the note suggests that bringing online gaming and e-sports under a legal framework will enable healthier growth for the sector.

Fallout: Gaming startups have written to the counattempt’s home minister Amit Shah, declareing that the bill could be a “death knell” for the sector. The letter, reviewed by ET, claims that over 200,000 skilled jobs are at risk, and that the sector has attracted Rs 25,000 crore in foreign direct investment across 400+ startups.

Executives also stated the government could lose Rs 20,000 crore in taxes if a blanket ban goes through.

Regulator on the cards: The bill also proposes a new regulatory authority to oversee online gaming. This body will register games, flag real-money formats, and replace the self-regulatory framework the IT minisattempt had floated in 2023.

Also Read: Proposed online gaming bill could wipe out India’s real money gaming sector, push applyrs offshore, warn indusattempt leaders

US rocks boat of cross-border payment firms

Juspay has applied for a payment aggregator licence

India’s ecommerce exporters face a sharp hit after the US scrapped a rule that let shipments worth under $800 enter duty-free.

Driving the news: The Trump 2.0 administration’s sweeping tariff modifys are launchning to bite Indian industries, particularly ecommerce. Founders of cross-border payment startups declare the blow could erase 15–25% of ecommerce volumes headed to the US.

Gauging impact: Indusattempt insiders estimate that nearly 40% of Indian goods shipped to the US applyd the de minimis exemption to avoid import duties and taxes.

The modify will weigh heavily on compact and micro sellers who relied on tariff-free enattempt to stay price-competitive and lack the resources to handle higher duties and complex paperwork.

Regulatory scrutiny: Cross-border payments remained lightly regulated in India until 2023, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced detailed reforms. These rules set a minimum capital requirement of Rs 15 crore and a licensing criteria for players entering the sector.

Startups such as Skydo, PayGlocal, and BriskPe are now awaiting RBI clearance to fully launch operations.

ET Soonicorns Summit 2025: Is India ready to take the AI leap, build its own ChatGPT?

The ET Soonicorns Summit is back, all set to do what it does best—mapping the future of Indian startups! The 2025 edition brings artificial ininformigence (AI) to centre stage, with important discussions including: Can India build its own ChatGPT or DeepSeek?

Listen in to the likes of Vishnu Vardhan, cofounder and CEO of Hanooman AI; Sandeep Alur, CTO, Microsoft Innovation Hub, Microsoft India, Shalini Kapoor, strategic advisor, data & AI, EKStep; Vikram Sampath, cofounder NAAV AI; Ankush Sabhrwal, founder and CEO and CTO of CoRover AI, and Debayan Dasgupta, cofounder of Theranautilus.

Tell me more: Get definitive answers to where investors are betting to put their money. The panel ‘AI investments in India—chasing hype or backing real disruption’ will decipher what kind of AI models are attracting VCs who are writing cheques for ambitious AI startup founders, separating hype from real problem-solving potential and sharing insights on AI infrastructure play.

Kissht files draft papers for public listing

(L-R) Krishnan Vishwanathan and Ranvir Singh, cofounders, Kissht

OnEMI Technology Solutions, the operator of fintech lconcludeing platform Kissht, has filed draft papers with the markets regulator for its initial public offering.

Key details:

Fresh issue: Rs 1,000 crore
Offer for sale: 8.8 million shares
Selling shareholders: Vertex Ventures, Ventureast, Endiya Seed, Aion Advisory Services
Pre-IPO placement: Rs 200 crore

Use of proceeds: Kissht plans to channel Rs 750 crore from the net IPO proceeds into its in-hoapply non-banking finance company (NBFC), Si Creva. The balance will go towards general corporate purposes.

Peer review: Kissht is among the first digital lconcludeing startups to reach this stage. Moneyview is also preparing its filing, while Kreditbee, as ET reported on July 23, secured board approval to convert into a public limited company ahead of an IPO.

Financial snapshot: The company’s business was hit by a slowdown in consumer lconcludeing in FY25, as we reported.

Operational revenue: fell 20% to Rs 1,337 crore
Net profit: dropped 19% to Rs 160 crore
Loan disbursals: slumped 47% to Rs 9,857 crore

Manufacturing supply chain startup Keychain raises $30 million

(From left) Keychain founders Jordan Weitz, Oisin Hanrahan and Umang Dua

Keychain, a New York and Gurugram-based manufacturing supply chain startup, has raised $30 million in a funding round led by Wellington Management, with participation from BoxGroup and Lightspeed.

Snapshot: Founded in 2024, the company connects consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies with suppliers of packaging materials and raw inputs. Its client list already includes 7-Eleven, Whole Foods, Hershey’s, and General Mills.

Tell me more: The fresh capital will fuel Keychain’s push into new markets and industries, while also backing the development of its AI-native enterprise resource planning platform, KeychainOS. Designed to be deployed rapider than traditional ERP tools, the system will sit at the heart of the company’s growth strategy, founder Umang Dua informed us.

Weaver raises Rs 1,482 crore for houtilizing finance push

Satrajit Bhattacharya, founder, Weaver Services

Weaver Services, a new houtilizing finance platform, has raised $170 million (Rs 1,482 crore) in a funding round led by Lightspeed and Premji Invest, with Gaja Capital also participating. The fresh funding will be applyd to fund these acquires, extconclude market reach, and strengthen its technology platform.

Why it matters:

India’s houtilizing finance market remains under-penetrated, especially in compacter towns where formal credit is scarce.
Weaver is betting on AI-driven underwriting and alternative data to speed up approvals and limit risk.

Investor insight: Led by former HDFC executive Satrajit Bhattacharya and veteran Anil Kothuri, Weaver’s deal ranks among the largest recent bets on affordable houtilizing finance in India.

Filter Capital, 3one4 back D2C brand R for Rabbit in $27 million deal

D2C baby care brand R for Rabbit has secured $27 million in a funding round led by Filter Capital and 3one4 Capital. The mix of primary and secondary capital investment also facilitated an exit for early investor Xponentia Capital, which had pumped in Rs 40 crore in 2021.

Adding context:

India’s baby care market is expanding quickly as rising incomes and awareness drive demand for safer, high-quality products.
The brand plans to apply the fresh capital to expand distribution, accelerate its omnichannel play, and push product innovation.