Delta Corp is exiting the online gaming business. The casino giant is selling Deltatech Gaming, including Adda52, to Head Digital Works (HDW) for ₹491 crore in a cash-and-stock deal.
The deets: Hyderabad-based HDW, backed by Canadian PE firm Clairvest, operates online rummy and poker platforms under the A23 brand.
With this acquisition, it adds Adda52, one of India’s oldest poker platforms, expanding its grip on the skill-based gaming market.
This will be an all cash and stock deal.
What went wrong: Delta Corp acquired Adda52 for ₹182 crore in 2016 and had big plans of filing for a ₹550 crore IPO for Deltatech Gaming.
But the 28% GST on real-money gaming threw a wrench in the plans, forcing a strategy shift.
Adding to the chaos, Deltatech Gaming received a ₹6,384 crore retrospective GST notice, part of a wider crackdown on gaming firms.
Even as the Supreme Court stayed GST show cause notices worth ₹1.5 lakh crore against gaming firms, regulatory uncertainty continues to cloud the industry.
Bottomline: this deal signals a major consolidation in India’s real-money gaming space, as firms struggle with regulatory challenges.
Delta Corp, while exiting direct gaming operations, will still hold a small stake in HDW, ensuring it has a foot in the door if the sector stabilizes.
And as for HDW, the move expands its gaming footprint beyond rummy and fantasy sports, making it a stronger competitor to PokerBaazi, Nazara-backed PokerCircle, and other online poker platforms.
