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Dream11 pivots to global sports platform

By Sohail Khan 27 August 2026, 2:12 pm

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Business News›Industry›Media/Entertainment›Entertainment›Dream11 completes pivot, no longer a gaming app

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Dream11 completes pivot, no longer a gaming app
Synopsis

Dream11 has shifted to a global sports engagement platform, discontinuing all prizes. This move follows India's 2025 Online Gaming Act banning real-money games. The company now focuses on content, streaming, and community features for users. This transition impacts its sponsorship deals, including with the BCCI. Dream11 aims to offer personalized, multi-sport content to a worldwide audience.

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Employees at an Indian sports tech startup face a $1,200 fine if they contact staff who are on vacation — Dream11 completes pivot to a global sports engagement platform

Dream11 on Thursday announced it has completed its transition from a fantasy sports company to what it describes as a "global sports engagement platform," discontinuing all prizes to focus on sports content, live streaming, stats, scores, commentary, community features, experiences and social contests.

The company said the platform will move to an AI-first model, offering personalised content based on users' favourite sports, leagues, teams and players, and will expand to cover multiple sports for a global audience rather than remaining India-focused.

Also read: Dream11 exits IPL jerseys as teams sign new principal sponsors

Vaibhav Kokal, CEO of Dream11, said the company was drawing on its base of 300 million users to build what he called an AI-first sports engagement platform, "made in India, for the World."

The real-money gaming ban

Dream11's move away from cash contests traces back to India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. According to PTI, Parliament passed the bill in August 2025, with the Lok Sabha clearing it first and the Rajya Sabha approving it a day later without debate, after rejecting opposition amendments. The bill, piloted by Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, sought to ban all forms of online money games while promoting eSports and online social gaming

Under the Act, the government provided for a complete ban on offering, operating or facilitating online money games, with penalties of up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both, for violations. The stated objective, per the government's own release, was to curb addiction, financial distress and the social and psychological harms linked to real-money gaming platforms, with a particular focus on protecting youth.

Following the law's passage, Dream11 shut down its real-money contests. Fantasy sports company Dream11, subsequently informed the BCCI that it would not be able to continue as lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team, as its revenue was expected to be severely hit by the ban. Dream11 held a sponsorship deal with the BCCI worth close to $44 million, running from 2023 to 2026, and together with rival fantasy platform My11Circle contributed roughly ₹1,000 crore to the BCCI through team and IPL sponsorships.

In its own statement at the time, Dream11 said it had always operated as a law-abiding company and would fully comply with the new legislation, even as it maintained that a more progressive law would have been preferable.

Also read: Supreme Court agrees to hear pleas challenging new online gaming law

Reuters reported separately that the ban affected an industry backed by venture capital investors, and that gaming experts had flagged concerns about users shifting to unregulated or offshore platforms after the shutdown of licensed real-money apps.

The company describes itself as building an AI-first sports engagement platform for 300 million fans, offering personalised, multi-sport content, live streaming, stats, commentary, community features, experiences and social contests.

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