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Hike founder Kavin Bharti Mittal announced on September 13, 2025, that he would wind down the company completely after India changed the legal environment for real-money gaming. The reports describe this as Hike’s business decision—not a shutdown ordered by a regulator. The change hit Rush, Hike’s cash-prize gaming business, while Mittal said taking its newer U.S. operation global would require a costly reset.
How Hike moved from messaging to real-money gaming
Hike launched as a messaging app in 2012. It reached unicorn status in 2016 at a reported $1.4 billion valuation, according to The Indian Express. After Hike Messenger was sunset in 2021, the company shifted its focus toward gaming, including Rush, which offered casual games such as carrom and ludo for cash prizes. TechCrunch and The Indian Express reported on the company’s evolution and the wind-down announcement.
Mittal said Rush had attracted over 10 million users and generated more than $500 million in gross revenue over its four-year run, TechCrunch reported. Those are figures attributed to Mittal, not independently audited totals established by the cited report.
What India’s online gaming law prohibits
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits online money games and related offering, operation, facilitation, advertising, promotion, and participation. Its prohibition applies across games of chance, skill, or a combination of the two; describing a game as skill-based does not by itself establish an exemption. The Act’s text is available from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
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The Act also covers a wider online gaming framework, including e-sports, educational games, and social games. The government distinguishes those categories from online money games; the law should not be read as prohibiting the entire gaming sector.
What the 2026 Rules add
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 came into force on May 1, 2026, according to the government’s April 22, 2026 announcement. They establish processes for classifying and registering games, user-safety features, grievance redressal, and enforcement.
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- A TRADITIONAL FAVORITE: The classic game of chase, race and capture was first played all the way back in the 4th century
- HOW TO PLAY: It's every pawn for themselves and players try to roll the magic number and enter their pawns onto the track. Once out, players can form blockades, send their opponents home and earn big bonus movements
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Why Mittal chose to close Hike rather than pivot again
Mittal said Hike’s U.S. business had launched nine months earlier and was “off to a strong start.” But scaling globally after the India ban would require, in his words as quoted by TechCrunch, “a full recap, a reset that is not the best use of capital or time.”
The Indian Express reported Mittal’s broader explanation: “We could raise the capital, but the real question is: is it worth it? Is this a climb worth pivoting for? For the first time in 13 years, my answer is no.” His stated rationale was that raising money remained possible, but he did not believe the global rebuild justified the capital and time. The wind-down followed discussions with investors and the team.
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What is not established about the wind-down
The cited reports establish the announced decision to wind down Hike, but do not establish an exact final service-disconnection date, current app-store status, or how user data and account access would be handled. Those operational details should not be inferred from the announcement alone.
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