Think360.ai, a CAMS company and leader in AI-driven credit-risk analytics, has released a study showing that one in every five Indian borrowers engages in real money gaming. The study finds a statistically significant association between heavy online gaming and elevated credit risk among economically vulnerable borrowers. While online gaming is not the sole driver of delinquency, among borrowers with high gaming intensity, it emerges as a leading contributing factor, correlating with higher odds of missed EMIs and short-tenor credit use. This dynamic contributes to heightened financial strain amid the rapid growth of digital lending and online gaming.
Recently, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. The law bans money-based online games while promoting e-sports and social gaming. Industry participants are adjusting processes in line with the new framework.
The Think360.ai study, based on an in-depth analysis of 19,966 individuals earning under ₹6 lakh annually, divided into salaried and self-employed borrowers using Think360.ai’s Algo360 platform, revealed that one in every five borrowers indulges in one or more of such platforms. Precisely, 24% of the self-employed individuals and 22% of the salaried individuals engage in real-money gaming activities.
Missing payment by the actual bill date in the next billing cycle was seen in 35 out of the 100 gaming platform users(35%) vs 12 out of 100 (12%) for non-platform users. This represents a threefold increase among borrowers with gaming exposure, independent of the source of income. It was 29% for the salaried users and 38% for the self-employed users for gaming platform users. The study indicates a higher rate of missing payments among borrowers who engage in gaming. Among these gamers, self-employed individuals exhibit a greater incidence of missed EMIs compared to their salaried counterparts.
Amit Das, Founder & CEO, Think360.ai, said: “Risk-based gaming often signals wider financial instability. Our study shows that borrowers linked to online gaming tend to miss payments, take on unsustainable debt, and are at greater risk of loan default. Thanks to behaviour-driven risk models, lenders can now detect these warning signs early and act to protect both borrowers and financial institutions.”
Key Findings of the Study:
● Participation by segment: Out of a total of 19,966 borrowers, 7,084 are salaried (35%) and 12,882 are self-employed (65%). Among them, 1,554 salaried borrowers (22%) and 3,092 self-employed borrowers (24%) engage in real-money gaming, totaling 4,178 gaming platform users (about 23% of all borrowers).
● Missed-payments incidence among gamers: When it comes to missing payment in the next cycle, 456 salaried gaming platform users (29%) and 1,587 self-employed gaming platform users (38%) missed at least one EMI, which totals 2,044 missed-EMI cases (34%) among all gamers.
● Relative risk (within gaming platform users): Self-employed gamers show a 17% higher risk of missing EMIs compared to salaried gamers. The relative risk of missing an EMI for self-employed gamers is 1.17, indicating that self-employed gamers are more likely to miss payments.
● Who drives missing payments among gamers: Among gamers, self-employed borrowers account for 77% of all missed payment cases (1,587 out of 2,044), while they are only 65% of the sampled base.
Think360.ai report indicates the need for lenders to adopt behaviour-driven credit models, which go beyond traditional credit scoring. For instance, by analysing patterns in spending, debt repayment behaviours, and lifestyle choices like real-money gaming, lenders can identify early signs of financial distress that traditional models may overlook. Playing for stakes, which is often seen as a recreational activity, can be an indicator of deeper instability, such as increasing debt reliance or missed payments.
These risk assessment models offer a more accurate, comprehensive, and proactive approach to credit risk, helping lenders make informed decisions by identifying borrowers at higher risk of default due to overspending or falling into debt cycles. This approach is crucial for Indian financial institutions, especially in the wake of the recent online gaming ban, ensuring more effective and precise lending decisions.
