Kavin Bharti Mittal, founder of Hike’s casual real-money gaming (RMG) platform Rush, has announced that the company will exit India completely and focus fully on the United States and other global markets. Mittal shared the decision in a detailed post on August 21, citing regulatory uncertainty and better opportunities abroad.
“Over the past few years, we’ve been building Rush in India with one belief: gaming is the new entertainment. Millions of Indians came to play, compete, and win, and we’re proud of the community we built here,” Mittal said.
Centre’s stance leaves RMG in limbo
He explained the reasons for leaving India, pointing to the recently passed online gaming bill. “The Govt of India has made its stance clear: Real Money Gaming will not be allowed. Years of regulatory ambiguity followed by a bill rushed through to ban all RMG — without industry consultation. The message is loud and clear.”
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He added, “We’re disappointed. Not just for ourselves, but for the entrepreneurs & teams who poured their hearts and billions into this sector. At the same time, we respect the govt’s right to take a moral stance on what it believes is best for society. Policy-making is complex and involves hard trade-offs.”
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Timing and clarity could have saved billions
Mittal lamented the timing and clarity of the government’s decision, saying, “What we do wish: that this decision had been made sooner, with clearer communication. That would have saved billions in wasted investment and avoided leaving the industry in limbo.”
He also pointed out that India’s reluctance to embrace crypto left the promise of Web3 ownership the foundation of Rush’s platform — uncertain. “This isn’t the first signal. India also chose not to embrace crypto, leaving the promise of Web3 ownership — the very foundation of what we’re building uncertain here.”
By contrast, he said the US is moving toward regulatory clarity:
“The Genius Act for stablecoins has already passed”
“The Clarity Act for tokens is on the horizon”
“Together, they create one of the most exciting environments in the world to build in Web3,” he added.
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Mittal also shared early global metrics, highlighting stronger performance: “10x higher ARPU, 2x better retention, and superior ROAS.” He noted that the US also opens up new business models beyond RMG, including advertising and virtual goods — “categories already worth billions, with far higher consumer spend than in India.”
“Our vision is finally possible globally,” Mittal said. “We finally have the room to unlock our Hike Gaming Nation vision: a Company 2.0 where players aren’t just participants, but citizens and owners of the networks they help build.”
In India, Rush scaled to $500 million+ in gross revenue in just four years. Mittal now aims to grow the US and global business even bigger, asking, “Can we scale our US/global business to be bigger than India and do it within 18–24 months? We believe the answer is yes. It’s time to build the Gaming Nation.”
