Dream11, that big fantasy sports company, is pulling out as the Indian cricket team’s main sponsor because of this new government rule, the ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025’.
Basically, Dream11 told the BCCI they can’t continue to sponsor since their profits will take a hit.
1000 Crore Annually
Someone at PTI news spilled the tea on August 20 saying this bill will cost cricket a lot. Dream11 and My11Circle together give the BCCI around Rs 1000 crore annually just to be the title sponsors of the Indian cricket team and the IPL.
Read Also:- Cheteshwar Pujara Reveals Challenges Faced During Gritty Australia Series
Dream11 had a deal from 2023 to 2026 paying USD 44 million (around Rs 358 crore) to be the Indian cricket team’s main sponsor.
No Promotion Of On-line Money Games
But this new rule says you can’t promote or advertise online money games or even help people play them. That’s a big problem for fantasy sports companies that make money from paid gambling.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia didn’t want to comment on it. But the word is Dream11 might not have to pay a big penalty since their contract had a clause that if the government changes the rules they can get out of it.
This new law is okay with social games and subscriptions. It bans real money gaming so Dream11 and others are losing their biggest cash cow.
Dream11 said after the law was passed that they’ve always followed the rules and will continue to do so. They wished the law was more modern but they’ll do what it says.
Everyone kind of saw this coming anyway since real money gaming is where about 90% of the revenue for these fantasy sports companies comes from.
Sponsorships In Many Leagues
Now everyone’s wondering if My11Circle will do the same. They pay the BCCI Rs 125 crore annually to be the IPL’s official fantasy partner. They might have to pull out like Dream11. Plus less sponsorship is coming. A lot of cricketers get paid to promote different apps too so that will hurt as well, said someone in the know to PTI.Dream11 started 18 years ago and is now worth $8 billion. And, became BCCI’s main sponsor in July 2023 replacing Byju’s. They had a three-year deal worth ₹358 crore. Besides the Indian team, they also branched out into the IPL, where they signed up top players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah to represent them. In 2020, they even sponsored the IPL trophy, taking over from the Chinese company Vivo.
Dream 11 is also in foreign leagues. They’re the official fantasy partner for the Caribbean Premier League and the title sponsor of Super Smash. They’re also involved in the Australian domestic T20 competitions, the Big Bash League and the Women’s Big Bash League. And in 2018, they teamed up with the International Cricket Council.
Dream11 also does deals in other sports. It’s the official fantasy partner for the Indian Super League. They are also partnered with the Pro Kabaddi League and the International Hockey Federation.
