Team India sponsor Dream11 exits real-money business: India set to play Asia Cup without sponsor as Gaming Bill clears Rajya Sabha- Report

The government says that money-based online gaming is causing mental and financial harm to people.

India’s largest fantasy gaming company, Dream11, is going to shut down its real money gaming (RMG) business. This has been claimed in some media reports.

This decision was taken after the Online Gaming Bill 2025 was recently passed by the Government of India. Under this bill, online real-money games have been completely banned.

According to media reports, Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports shared this information with its employees in an internal townhall meeting on August 20.

Dream11 has been a major sponsor of the Indian cricket team and big tournaments like IPL. In such a situation, there are also reports that Team India will play in the Asia Cup without a sponsor.

Bill approved by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

On August 21, 2025, the Rajya Sabha and a day before that the Lok Sabha approved the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025.

This bill was introduced by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Now this bill will go to the President for approval and then it will become law.

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had introduced the online gaming bill

67% of Dream11’s revenue comes from real money segment

Dream11’s real money gaming segment accounts for 67% of the company’s total revenue. That means most of the company’s earnings came from games like fantasy cricket.

Here users would invest money to create their teams and receive cash prizes upon winning. But under the new bill, these games have now become illegal.

According to the report, company CEO Harsh Jain told employees that there is no legal way to continue real money gaming under the new law.

Due to this, Dream11 has decided to shut down its core business. According to sources, the company will now focus on its non-real money gaming ventures.

This includes Sports Drip and FanCode. Additionally, the company will focus on growing its other investments like WillowTV and CricBuzz and expanding into foreign markets.

4 strict rules in online gaming bill

This bill states that whether these games are skill-based or chance-based, both will be banned.

Money-based gaming causing financial losses

The government says that money-based online gaming is causing people mental and financial losses. Some people have become so addicted to gaming that they lost their life savings, and in some cases, there have even been reports of suicides.

Additionally, there are concerns about money laundering and national security. The government wants to take strict steps to prevent this.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Parliament, “Online money games are creating a major problem in society. They are increasing addiction and depleting families’ savings.

It is estimated that around 45 crore people are affected by this and middle-class families have suffered a loss of 20,000 crore rupees. They also mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised this as a gaming disorder.

86% revenue in online gaming market from real money format

The online gaming market in India is currently worth around 32,000 crore rupees. Of this, 86% revenue comes from real money format. It was expected to reach around 80,000 crore rupees by 2029. But now they will have to shut down these real-money games.

Industry people are saying that this step by the government could put 2 lakh jobs at risk. The government may also lose tax revenue worth crores of rupees every year.