Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 25: Fantasy sports platform Dream11 has officially stepped down as the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team, a move that became inevitable following the introduction of the Online Gaming Bill which forced the company to shut down its core services in India.

Though Dream11 had to prematurely end its sponsorship contracts, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cannot penalise the company due to a safeguard clause in the ?358 crore deal that exempted penalties if new legislation disrupted operations.
A senior BCCI official told The Indian Express, “Dream11 representatives visited the BCCI office and informed CEO Hemang Amin that they won’t be able to continue. As a result, they won’t be the team’s sponsors for the Asia Cup. The BCCI will float a new tender soon.”

Dream11, which replaced Byju’s as Team India’s lead sponsor in 2023, had entered into a high-value deal with the BCCI. The company also has a strong presence across the sporting ecosystem, sponsoring multiple IPL franchises, leagues worldwide, and cricketing superstars including M S Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Dream11 was also the title sponsor of the IPL in 2020, when Chinese smartphone brand Vivo exited following India-China tensions. In addition, it holds sponsorship rights in the Caribbean Premier League and New Zealand’s domestic T20 league, Super Smash. However, with its business model under legal constraints in India, several smaller tournaments that rely on such sponsorships may face financial strain in the months ahead.

The Online Gaming Bill, now enacted into law, flagged grave concerns about the unchecked growth of online money-based gaming. It linked such platforms to financial fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and even terror financing, calling them a threat to national security and public order.