India, Aug. 22 -- Following the Centre's crackdown on online real money gaming (RMG), Web3 gaming startup Hike has said it will suspend the India operations of its RMG platform Rush and exit the country.

In a post on X, founder and CEO Kavin Mittal said, "After 4 years building Rush in India, we've made a tough decision - exit India completely and go all-in on the US and global markets".

In a blog post, he attributed the decision to a slew of factors - the "rushed" Online Gaming Bill which bans RMG, high GST rates on the sector and regulatory ambiguity around cryptocurrencies.

"The Government of India has made its position clear: RMG will not be allowed to exist in the country. Through GST hikes (rumoured now at 40%), regulatory ambigu...