Let’s Game Now’s ₹30 crore bet on a franchise esports league

The cheque and the backers

The round is ₹30 crore. Let’s Game Now has not shared its valuation, the equity sold, or how much each backer committed.

Mahindra confirmed the investment in a post on X on 28 October 2026. In the same post he compared ISGL’s ambitions with the Pro Kabaddi League, which he helped launch in 2014. That league turned a traditional sport into a mainstream, televised property. He wrote: "I’m delighted to invest in Let’s Game Now, the company behind the Indian Super Gaming League". He added that the aim was "to help create a whole generation of Indian gaming champions". Bestvantage Investments co-led the round, and an unnamed UAE-based family office also took part.

Let’s Game Now is Bengaluru-based. It was founded in 2018 by Santanu Basu. Basu is a former competitive FIFA player who represented India abroad and spent seven years with the US organisation Tempo Storm. Basu has organised or taken part in more than 500 college events. He launched the Asian Football Gaming Championship in 2013, which has sent more than 27 Indian players abroad. Co-founder Gautam Badalia was previously chief executive of Route Mobile, later acquired by Proximus.

ISGL launched earlier this year, before the funding was announced.

Eight teams, five games, city qualifiers

The league was announced with eight teams. Most of them are borrowed from Indian sport. They are Mumbai City FC, FC Goa, Chennaiyin FC, Kerala Blasters FC, Inter Kashi, Puneri Paltan, Bangalore Bhargavas and Andhra Agneyas. It spans five games: chess, EA Sports FC 26, Call of Duty: Mobile, FAU-G and Cricket 26. That mix puts global titles alongside cricket-themed and homegrown ones, a combination aimed at Indian audiences rather than the international competitive circuit.

The team count is not consistent across coverage: The Economic Times interview with Basu describes six teams, while the funding reports list eight. City qualifiers began in Mumbai in March 2026. The format is meant to work as a ladder, with local qualifiers feeding the main competition rather than the league relying on invited rosters.

Basu told The Economic Times that Saransh, who played for Mumbai City FC in ISGL’s first season, went on to represent India at the Esports World Cup in Paris. He said the league gives players "consistency and a real scope for long-term career development".

The commercial test

Let’s Game Now says it reaches 50 million individuals across 18 countries. It also claims a community of more than 1.4 million members, more than 2,000 events organised and over 30 clients.

Those figures describe reach, not revenue. Monetising Indian gaming audiences through advertising, sponsorships and merchandise remains hard, and gaming startups face high costs for user acquisition and server infrastructure. ISGL will also carry production, marketing and league operating costs that have to be covered by recurring income. The company has not announced a detailed timeline for the league’s next stage, nor disclosed the proposed franchise economics. Its existing business is events and broadcasting: online competitions, offline events and live broadcasts for brands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. That network could supply participants and audiences. Turning reach into sustained viewership and recurring revenue is the harder step.

The ₹30 crore buys time to build the property. It does not yet show that anyone will pay to watch it.

What Mahindra brings

Mahindra’s record is the strongest argument for the round. He helped launch the Pro Kabaddi League in 2014, and his involvement also connects ISGL to the Global Chess League, another structured competition he has backed.

He pre-empted one obvious criticism in the same X post. "I know gaming raises concerns about screen time & distraction. But responsible, competitive esports is a different ball game," he wrote.

He also argued the ecosystem creates roles beyond players: coaches, analysts, content creators, designers and producers. Those jobs depend on one condition. The league must sell sponsorship season after season. His involvement could also draw brands, sponsors and other investors toward a league that has not published a commercial calendar.

The open questions

Four things remain undisclosed: the valuation, the equity sold, each investor’s contribution and the franchise economics.

ISGL’s longer-term prospects rest on one task. It must turn a franchise property into a commercially sustainable competition with consistent participation and viewership. The next milestones are recurring sponsorship revenue and the financial stability of the eight franchise owners. ISGL still has to attract those owners and commercial partners while building an audience across games and seasons. Coverage also differs on whose money it is. The Economic Times describes investment from Mahindra’s family office, while other reports describe a personal investment co-led with Bestvantage.

For now the league has a backer with a track record in Indian sport, eight teams with existing fanbases and a ₹30 crore runway. It does not have a published business model.