After Dream11 withdrew its sponsorship of the Indian cricket team following the government’s new law curbing online gaming, the shockwaves are being felt across the wider cricketing ecosystem.
For the BCCI, the world’s richest cricket board, it is business as usual as it prepares to issue a fresh sponsorship tender. But the impact could be far more severe for smaller state T20 leagues and their teams, which rely heavily on sponsorship from fantasy-gaming platforms and offshore betting websites to stay afloat. From Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to Mumbai and Delhi, leagues are bracing for a financial squeeze.
Domestic Leagues and Gaming Platforms
Santosh N, managing partner of D & P Advisory, which tracks IPL’s brand valuation, explained that these smaller domestic leagues were crucial for online fantasy platforms. “They keep the users engaged throughout the year. If nothing is available for 200 days, users drift away or uninstall the apps. These companies back smaller leagues not for revenue, but to keep their audiences hooked,” he said.
According to Santosh, the fallout could ripple beyond leagues and franchises, hurting not just players but also brand ambassadors, broadcasters, and even professionals from other industries engaged in promotional campaigns.
Big Names in Fantasy Gaming Promotions
Dream11, India’s biggest fantasy-gaming operator, has roped in cricket superstars like M. S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah as brand ambassadors. It also partnered with several IPL teams, placing its branding on T-shirts and helmets.
Its main competitor, Mobile Premier League (MPL), served as the Indian team’s apparel sponsor between November 2020 and December 2022, with Virat Kohli as its face. During that period, MPL also sponsored India’s contingent at the Tokyo Olympics, the Asian Games, and the Commonwealth Games.
Another rival, My11Circle, endorsed by then-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, also signed up players such as Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, and Ruturaj Gaikwad—even while Dream11 remained active in Indian cricket.
Regulatory Landscape
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), a self-regulatory industry body, features a mix of prominent figures: bureaucrat Bimal Julka as chairman, former Supreme Court judge A.K. Sikri as ombudsman, sports executive Joy Bhattacharya as director general, and Dream11 co-founder Harsh Jain as president.
With the new law reshaping India’s fantasy-gaming sector, the industry’s once-flourishing ties with cricket could be entering a period of deep uncertainty—testing not just the business models of gaming platforms but also the financial stability of leagues and the players associated with them.
