Rekha Jhunjhunwala is under spotlight for her timely exit from Nazara Technologies just weeks before the government introduced the Online Gaming Bill 2025, which bans real money gaming. Jhunjhunwala offloaded her entire stake in the company through a family entity in June, well ahead of the regulatory blow.
Her move has sparked debate all over social media, whereas several marquee investors are now facing the brunt of the crash. Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, ace investor Madhusudan Kela, and Plutus Wealth Management’s Arpit Khandelwal have collectively seen heavy losses as Nazara shares plunged over 17% in the last five market sessions.
Shortly after the announcement, ICICI Securities cut its target price on the stock by 27% to ₹1,100 from ₹1,500, lowering its rating to ‘Reduce’.
Stake of investors in Nazara
According to a regulatory filing, the Estate of Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, currently owned by his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala held 44,45,120 shares (5.07%) in the firm as of June 6, 2025. Between June 9-12, they sold 17,21,500 shares (1.96%), followed by 27,23,620 shares on June 13, leading to a total stake reduction of 5.07%.
Nikhil Kamath, via Kamath Associates and NKsquared, owned 3.51% stake in the company, while Madhusudan Kela held 1.18% in Nazara as on June 30. Arpit Khandelwal, on his name, held 7.44% stake in the firm as on June 30. Khandelwal’s Plutus Wealth Management also owned 10.91% in Nazara.
Why did Nazara shares crash?
Nazara Technologies is an India-based company that provides a gaming and sports media platform with offerings in interactive gaming and eSports. It was hit by the gaming ban because of the sudden selling pressure.
Nazara Technologies shares closed 4.13% lower at ₹1,155.75 after Friday’s stock market session, compared to ₹1,205.60 at the previous market close.
Shares of the gaming and esports company have lost over 19% in the last one-month period. However, the shares have a history of giving market investors more than 37% returns in the last five years and 21.81% gains in the last one-year period, Mint reported earlier.
What is the real-money gaming ban?
India’s Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which bans real-money online games. President Droupadi Murmu signed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 into law on Friday, August 22, 2025.
As a direct result, major real-money gaming firms like Dream Sports (parent of Dream11), Mobile Premier League (MPL), Zupee, Gameskraft, Probo, and others have already begun suspending operations.
