Trek, once one of India’s most valuable startups with unicorn status, has become the latest casualty of New Delhi’s recent ban on gambling, with the company—owned by Kavin Bharti Mittal, son of Airtel founder Sunil Bharti Mittal—now being shut down.
On Saturday, Trek founder Mittal (pictured above) said the startup’s US business, which launched nine months ago, is “off to a strong start.” But he said scaling globally will require “a complete review, a reset, which is not the best use of capital or time.”
Originally launched as an instant messaging app to compete with WhatsApp in 2012, Hike has moved into real-money gaming in recent years with its main platform Rush, offering casual games like Carrom and Ludo for cash prizes, after Hike Messenger was discontinued in 2021.
Storied investors including Tiger Global, SoftBank and Tencent backed Hike’s early ambition to take on WhatsApp with a youth-focused messaging app. The startup was valued at $1.4 billion in 2016.
“We could raise capital, but the real question is: Is it worth it? Is this a move worth turning around for?” Moore wrote in a guest post. “For the first time in 13 years, my answer is no. Not for me, not for my team, not for our investors.”
Last month, the Indian government shocked the $23 billion real-money gaming industry by introducing the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which imposed a blanket ban on such platforms. The federal government said the move was aimed at preventing incidents of harm, including cases where individuals reportedly committed suicide after losing money on these games.
In response, major industry players including Dream Sports and Mobile Premier League (MPL) began shutting down their real money gaming operations in India. While some began turning to new businesses such as micro-gaming and financial services, others began exploring international markets to keep their gaming businesses alive.
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The crackdown has also led to a wave of layoffs, with companies like Games24x7 , Slavery, Head Digital Works, Slavery Mpl , and Soup in the Area reporting around 2,000 job losses. Some are planning to cut up to 90% of their workforce as they try to adapt or exit the space, sources told TechCrunch.
Some venture capital firms backing these startups have also questioned their founders about whether there were any early signs of regulatory action — and, if so, why no steps were taken to mitigate the impact, sources familiar with the discussions told TechCrunch.
Earlier this week, India’s Supreme Court transferred all petitions challenging the new law – the terms of which have not yet been notified – from several state courts across the country. However, the top court has yet to begin hearing the case.
“This is both a disappointment and a difficult outcome. But I choose to look on the bright side: the lessons are invaluable, and my confidence in what’s next is even stronger,” Mittal wrote.
