In the wake of the Indian government’s blanket ban on real-money gaming (RMG), Dream11, the country’s largest fantasy sports platform, has suffered a staggering 95% drop in revenue.
Despite the financial blow, co-founder and CEO Harsh Jain has publicly assured that the company will not resort to layoffs.
“Talent is our most important asset. If we ever reach a point where we need layoffs, that’s when we should consider shutting down,” Harsh said in multiple interviews this week.
The ban, enacted through the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, prohibits all forms of online money-based games.
The legislation has effectively dismantled Dream11’s core business model, which relied heavily on paid fantasy contests.
Yet, Harsh remains firm in his commitment to retain the company’s 800-member workforce.
Dream11 3.0: A Strategic Pivot to Free-to-Play and AI
In response to the crisis, Harsh unveiled a new roadmap for the company, dubbed “Dream11 3.0.”
This marks a shift from the RMG-based model (Dream11 2.0) to a free-to-play engagement strategy supported by advertising, sponsorships, and AI-driven innovation.
The company plans to leverage its existing ecosystem—including FanCode (sports content), DreamSetGo (sports travel), Dream Game Studios (game development), and Dream Money (fintech)—to build new monetizable products.
Harsh emphasized that the core appeal of fantasy sports remains strong: “Competing with friends and showcasing sports knowledge doesn’t need to involve money.
“Our challenge is to make it engaging without financial incentives and build a sustainable global model”, he added.
Redeployment and Innovation Over Retrenchment
Rather than cutting jobs, Dream Sports is redeploying nearly 500 engineers and staff across its verticals.
These teams will focus on developing AI-powered sports content, fan engagement tools, performance analytics, and merchandising platforms.
Harsh stated, “We have sports content, commerce, fan engagement, analytics, sports performance, and merchandise.
He added, “All of this is going to be disrupted by AI. And now I have 500 engineers whom I can allocate to solving these problems”.
The company is also testing new products under its fintech arm, Dream Money, which offers services like daily gold purchases and fixed deposits.
Though still in pilot phase, the platform reflects Dream Sports’ intent to diversify beyond fantasy gaming.
Dream11 Financial Resilience and Long-Term Vision
Despite the abrupt revenue collapse, Harsh insists that Dream Sports has sufficient capital reserves to sustain operations and retain staff for the next couple of years.
In FY23, the company reported operating revenue of ₹6,384 crore, up from ₹3,841 crore in FY22.
Harsh likened the company’s current position to that of a Series B startup: “We have the capital, the people, the user base, and the brand. We’ve been rejected before and survived. We’ll rebuild again”.
The company has also ended its ₹358 crore jersey sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), citing the financial impact of the ban.
However, Harsh affirmed that Dream11’s association with Indian cricket will continue through other channels such as ticketing and digital experiences.
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