Head Digital Works
Founded 2005 · 323 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Hyderabad-based online skill-gaming company operating the Ace2Three, A23 Rummy and A23 Poker real-money card platforms in India.
Also known as A23 · Ace2Three · HDW · Head Infotech · Head Infotech India Pvt Ltd
Investors · 2
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Head Digital Works (formerly and legally known as Head Infotech India Pvt Ltd) is an Indian online gaming company headquartered in Hyderabad, with an office presence in Madhapur and Bengaluru. It develops and operates gaming applications for the online gaming industry, and is best known for Ace2Three, an online skill-based gaming platform offering online rummy, along with the A23 Rummy and A23 Poker brands. The company describes a registered user base of more than 70 million players.
Beyond card games, the company expanded into sports content and fantasy engagement with Cricket.com, launched in April 2019 as a second-screen destination for cricket fans combining live match updates, analytics (including a tool branded Criclytics), video, editorial insight and fantasy sports contests. In early 2025 it acquired Deltatech Gaming, the real-money gaming arm of Delta Corp and operator of the Adda52 poker platform, in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at ₹491 crore.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), gazetted on 22 August 2025, prohibits real-money online gaming and related facilitation services and has fundamentally changed the company's operating environment. Head Digital Works has challenged the constitutional validity of the Act before the Supreme Court of India.
Founding story
The company was founded by Deepak Gullapalli, who serves as chairman.
Business model
The company operates consumer-facing online real-money skill-gaming platforms — principally rummy and poker under the Ace2Three, A23 Rummy, A23 Poker and (via Deltatech Gaming) Adda52 brands — alongside a cricket content and fantasy sports property, Cricket.com, which combined editorial content, live data and fantasy contests.
Revenue is generated from real-money online gaming operations on its card-game platforms; the company reported no revenue for roughly three months after payment and banking services were withdrawn in August 2025.
Traction
Ace2Three was cited as serving over 8 million customers, and the group later claimed more than 70 million registered players. The Cricket.com app crossed millions of downloads and built social followings of 122,000 YouTube subscribers, nearly 1 million on Instagram and 63,800 on X. Employee headcount stood at 606 before the 2025 contraction, falling to about 178-200.
Latest developments
In August 2025 the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act was gazetted; although not yet notified into force, banks (including Yes Bank), payment aggregators such as Easebuzz and Cashfree, advertisers and platforms including Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform withdrew services, which the company told the Supreme Court caused a complete halt in operations and no revenue for nearly three months against monthly operating costs of over ₹10 crore. Headcount fell from 606 to 178, and a company-wide restructuring cut roughly 500 jobs. Clairvest Group wrote off its entire investment of approximately ₹760 crore (an unrealised loss of C$120.9 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2025), reducing the carrying value to zero and driving a consolidated net loss of C$76.8 million for the September quarter. On 31 December 2025 the company confirmed the shutdown of Cricket.com, affecting around 16 employees. Its constitutional challenge to PROGA was before a Supreme Court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, with hearings scheduled to commence 26 November 2025.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Described by its majority investor as the operator of the leading online skill-based gaming platform in India, with Ace2Three serving over 8 million customers at the time of investment and the group later claiming more than 70 million registered players; its Deltatech acquisition brought in Adda52, one of India's oldest online poker platforms.
Technology
Develops gaming applications for the online gaming industry; Cricket.com used data-driven analytics tools branded Criclytics to generate player-performance and match insights alongside live match data.
Go-to-market
Consumer marketing for its gaming and content platforms, including celebrity and athlete endorsement — Cricket.com was promoted at launch with cricketers Rohit Sharma, Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen, Brian Lara and Smriti Mandhana — supported by app distribution and social channels; Cricket.com's YouTube channel reached 122,000 subscribers, with close to 1 million Instagram followers and 63,800 followers on X.
Indian consumers playing online rummy and poker for real money, and cricket fans consuming match content, analytics and fantasy contests.
Geography
India-focused, headquartered in Hyderabad (Madhapur) with an additional office in Bengaluru.
History
The business began operations in the mid-2000s under the name Head Infotech and was among the early entrants in online rummy in India. It built the Ace2Three, A23 Rummy and A23 Poker brands, and in April 2017 Toronto-based private equity firm Clairvest Group made a majority investment in the company through its Fund V. Cricket.com was launched in April 2019. In early 2025 the company acquired Deltatech Gaming, Delta Corp's real-money gaming arm, for ₹491 crore in cash and stock. Following the passage of PROGA in August 2025, revenue collapsed, headcount fell from 606 to 178 employees, Cricket.com was shut down at the end of 2025, and Clairvest wrote its investment down to zero.
Risks & controversies
The company's core business is directly exposed to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which bans real-money online gaming and related facilitation. Intermediaries withdrew banking, payment, advertising and messaging services from August 2025, halting operations before the Act was notified. Consequences have included the loss of revenue, layoffs of roughly two-thirds of staff, the shutdown of Cricket.com, user attrition, a complete write-off by its majority shareholder that the company says constrains its ability to raise capital, and uncertainty over the Deltatech Gaming acquisition. The company has warned the Supreme Court of a 'de facto shutdown' and 'corporate death' absent urgent relief.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsHead Digital Works shut its cricket content platform Cricket.com, affecting about 16 employees, amid a broader restructuring in which nearly 500 employees — around two-thirds of the workforce — were laid off, leaving roughly 200 staff.
Head Digital Works, as petitioner challenging the constitutional validity of PROGA, secured a direction from a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan for the Union government to file its affidavit by Monday, with hearings scheduled from 26 November 2025.
Clairvest Group disclosed a full write-off of its roughly ₹760 crore investment (unrealised loss of C$120.9 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2025), reducing carrying value to zero and driving a consolidated net loss of C$76.8 million for the September quarter.
The Act, which bans real-money online gaming and related facilitation services, was gazetted on 22 August 2025. Although not notified into force, banks, payment aggregators, advertisers and messaging platforms withdrew services, halting the company's operations.
Acquired Deltatech Gaming, the real-money gaming arm of Delta Corp and operator of the Adda52 poker platform, for ₹491 crore in a cash-and-stock deal.
Launched Cricket.com as a second-screen cricket destination with live match updates, analytics, video, insights and fantasy sports contests, promoted with cricketers Rohit Sharma, Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen, Brian Lara and Smriti Mandhana.
Clairvest Group announced a new investment in Head InfoTech through Fund V, taking majority ownership; the position was later marked as exited/written off.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Head Digital Works | Clairvestclairvest.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Head Digital Works do?
- Hyderabad-based online skill-gaming company operating the Ace2Three, A23 Rummy and A23 Poker real-money card platforms in India.
- Who are Head Digital Works's investors?
- Head Digital Works's investors include Clairvest Group Inc.