Dream11 shuts down real-money gaming operations following Online Gaming Bill 2025

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The Online Gaming Bill 2025 has brought a significant change in India's gaming landscape, marking the end of an era for Dream11, the country's largest fantasy sports platform.

Dream11's parent company, Dream Sports, has shut down its real-money gaming operations due to this new bill passed by Parliament, which imposes a complete ban on all real-money games.

Dream11 assured Balances are Safe

Regarding users' funds on Dream11, the platform has assured that account balances are safe and users can withdraw their money from the app. Dream Sports' CEO, Harsh Jain, communicated internally that there is no legal way to continue operations under the new law, and the company is informing its employees about transition plans. Dream Sports will now focus on other business verticals such as FanCode, DreamSetGo, and Dream Game Studios.

Dream11 also had a huge decline in the number of active matches, as only the Australia vs South Africa match was up for fantasy play on Friday (August 22) in cricket along with a Top End T20 match.

The new bill poses an existential threat to Dream Sports, as over 90% of its revenue has traditionally come from Dream11's paid fantasy contests. In the fiscal year 2024 alone, Dream11 generated revenue exceeding ₹9,600 crore, driven notably by record engagement during the Men's Cricket World Cup. Other Dream Sports platforms like FanCode and DreamSetGo currently contribute only modestly to the company's revenue, underscoring the massive impact of shutting down Dream11's real-money games.

Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports grew Dream11 to dominate India's fantasy sports market with over 28 crore registered users. It created deep cricket partnerships, including IPL title sponsorships and collaborations with Team India. The company had major investors like ChrysCap, Multiples, TCV, and Tiger Global and was last valued at $8 billion in 2021.

Other companies have also ceased their real-money gaming services following the bill-

Gameskraft's online rummy app RummyCulture has temporarily suspended cash transactions and gameplay services despite reporting ₹947 crore profit and ₹3,475 crore operating revenue in FY24.

Zupee announced on August 21 that it is suspending paid games but will keep the platform operational with free games like Ludo Supreme, Ludo Turbo, Snakes & Ladders, and Trump Card Mania accessible to all users.

The likes of MPL has also shut down their real money gaming operations. Meanwhile, IPL's main sponsor My11Circle continues to operate even on Friday as they had a list of matches for fantasy play.

The Online Gaming Bill 2025

The Online Gaming Bill 2025 aims to ban online games involving real money stakes to curb risks such as addiction, money laundering, and commercial crimes. It prohibits advertising of online money games and restricts funding or transactions related to gaming by business entities.

The bill categorizes games into two groups- e-sports (e.g., GTA, Call of Duty, BGMI, Freefire), which are allowed to continue, and real-money games (e.g., betting, rummy, fantasy cricket, ludo), which are fully banned and require special licenses.

Violations of the new law carry strict penalties - operators can face up to three years in jail and a fine of up to ₹1 crore. Advertising violations can lead to two years in prison and ₹50 lakh fine. Loans or funding for money games also entail severe penalties. The bill does not differentiate between skill games and games of chance.

India's online gaming market is rapidly expanding, with around 600 million gamers spending nearly ₹20,000 crore annually, prompting this law to address the growing societal risks associated with online gaming.