RMG ban: OOH sees limited fallout; banks on big spenders, festive rush 

The Centre’s decision to introduce a bill banning online real-money gaming (RMG) has sent ripples through the advertising and media ecosystem. While the move carries wide implications for broadcasters, streaming platforms, and digital media owners, its impact on the out-of-home (OOH) sector is also significant, but relatively contained. The loss for OOH players could be up to Rs 100 crore, as per industry estimates. 

Industry leaders argue that despite RMG’s high visibility in sports-led advertising, the category’s actual outdoor contribution has been modest compared to other major ones like real estate, FMCG, BFSI, and automobiles.

Read more on the ban 

Sudden void, but not unprecedented

“Losing a client or even an entire category always has an impact, and the RMG sector, being both highly active and mass-appeal, did contribute a notable share of revenues for the OOH industry. Their absence will certainly be felt. That said, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Over the years, we’ve seen once-dominant categories like telecom also go silent almost overnight,” shared Rohit Chopra, COO, Times OOH.

“We work with 1000+ clients across national, international, and regional markets, spanning airports, metros, and other premium assets pan-India. Because of this diversity, the immediate impact of this regulation is manageable, and we are confident the short-term loss will be mitigated over time,” Chopra added.

RMG brands, especially during cricket seasons, often booked high-impact sites in metros and at transit hubs. Their large-format billboards, stadium-side placements, and quick-burst campaigns became part of the visual language around major sporting events. However, industry executives are quick to point out that this is not the first time a once-dominant category has disappeared.

For instance, telecom once held sway before shrinking. Education brands followed a similar trajectory. Now, RMG joins the list of categories that burned brightly but briefly.

Details of the bill

Scale of RMG’s actual spend

Breaking down the impact in numbers, Yuvrraj Agarwaal, Chief Strategy Officer, Laqshya Media Group, said: “RMG was never a backbone category for OOH. Dream11, the biggest spender, virtually never touched Outdoor. PokerBaazi and A23 dabbled, but only in short bursts around cricket or high-footfall metros. The realistic dent is Rs 50–80 crore annually, just 1–1.5% of the Rs 4,650 crore OOH AdEx. In other words, RMG’s absence is more of a ripple than a crater for OOH.”

Contrasting the spends with other categories, Agarwaal said, “The RMG players spent Rs 4,000–5,000 crore last year across all media, but over 90 per cent went to digital and TV. 

On Outdoor, the contribution was Rs 50–80 crore in 2024, compared to Rs 1,000+ crore from Real Estate, Rs 506 crore from FMCG, around Rs 400 crore from BFSI, around Rs 350 crore from Auto, and around Rs 300 crore from Organised Retail. RMG was barely a rounding error in the OOH mix.”

This is perhaps why OOH players are not panicking. While the numbers may look significant in isolation, the relative contribution pales in comparison to the categories that sustain the sector through cycles.

Impact of crackdown 

Broader media feels sharper pinch

As for a broader picture, Karan Taurani, Executive Vice President, Elara Capital, highlights how the ban erases nearly a quarter of Indian Premier League ad revenues. “The Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 has banned a USD 4 billion real money gaming industry by revenue, erasing its 25% share of Rs 15,000 crore of Indian Premier League (IPL) ad revenue of Rs 60,000 crore.”

“RMG was a high-growth vertical, contributing 11% of India’s digital ad market and 7–8% of total ad revenue per EY. Dream11 spent Rs 57,000 crore in the past six years, and Games 277 Rs 10,000 crore on ads in three years,” Taurani observed in his report.

He further noted that the Act will dent broadcaster revenues, especially those tied to cricket. “Ad revenue from RMG firms was at Rs 1,00,000 crore (80% digital), accounting for 11% or Rs 80,000 crore of the Rs 7,00,000 crore digital ad market and around 7–8% of overall ad revenue. Broadcasters like JioStar and agencies would be hit, as fantasy platforms are the most aggressive advertisers in IPL and world cricket. With their exit, digital ad industry growth could moderate 300 basis points to 7.5% CAGR during CY24–25,” the report stated.

The Programmatic Reset

Hopes on festive season 

The festive season accounts for the biggest surge in outdoor demand, with advertisers locking prime inventory months in advance. For most OOH players, this pipeline has already been secured. Categories like e-commerce, automobiles, real estate, FMCG, and jewellery continue to dominate festive campaigns.

“When it comes to the festive season, historically the RMG category hasn’t been a major contributor. Their sharper focus has been around cricket and other sports-driven events, rather than festivals. With a healthy gap before the next big cricketing season, the industry will find opportunities to fill that void. Festive campaigns are traditionally led by categories such as e-commerce, automobiles, real estate, FMCG, and jewellery. We remain optimistic about the season ahead,” Rohit Chopra noted.

Laqshya Media’s Agarwaal echoed the view but highlighted that media owners have been taking tactical steps. “The real engines of OOH remain Real Estate, FMCG, BFSI, Auto, and Retail, categories that dwarf RMG by 10x or more. Festive OOH is locked months ahead. The RMG ban freed up some DOOH and billboards, but these are being filled instantly by standby briefs from FMCG, BFSI, Auto, and Retail. The 1% gap left by RMG is already being absorbed by mainstream consumer brands.”

While RMG’s exit leaves only a small gap, media companies are still adopting strategies to ensure revenue flows remain healthy. 

Agarwal further said, “We’re focusing on categories that already dominate and have festive tailwinds: real estate, FMCG, BFSI, auto, e-commerce, and organised retail. Tactically, media owners are using DOOH for flash-fills and bundling city packages to attract retail and FMCG advertisers.”

Lessons from the ban

For some insiders, the bigger story is not the loss of RMG revenue, but the lessons it leaves behind. 

RMG’s rise highlighted how quickly a new category could scale ad spends and command visibility in India’s media landscape. Yet, it also underscored the risks of overdependence on sectors vulnerable to regulation.

One senior OOH executive, speaking off the record, remarked, “The truth is, many of these gaming campaigns came with compliance headaches, tricky disclaimers, and regulatory grey zones. While the money was welcome, it was never big enough to justify the risk. In some ways, this ban cleans up the category mix for outdoor.” 

The Road Ahead

The next few months will be crucial in determining how the void is filled. For now, the signs point towards real estate, FMCG, BFSI, and auto stepping up with larger-than-life campaigns. E-commerce, too, is expected to play aggressively during the festive build-up. 

Meanwhile, the industry will watch closely whether any replacement categories such as quick-commerce, fintech, or health-tech emerge to fill the kind of visibility RMG briefly enjoyed.

For now, the consensus remains that RMG’s exit is not a crisis for Outdoor. Agarwal summed it up saying, “Festive demand is oversubscribed. The 1% gap left by RMG is already being filled by brands that actually scale on OOH.”