• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Dream11, the leading fantasy sports platform, has reportedly informed the BCCI that it will no longer be the sponsor of the Indian cricket team after the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill' was passed by both houses of parliament on Thursday.

"(Representatives of) Dream11 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," a BCCI official was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

Notably, Dream11 signed a deal of INR 358 crore with the BCCI in 2023 until 2026. Along with Dream11, My11Circle, another fantasy sports company, added more to make it around INR 1000 crore for the BCCI through the sponsorship of the Indian cricket teams and the IPL.

ALSO READ: Sourav Ganguly Becomes New Head Coach Of THIS TEAM

The new government bill states that "no person shall offer aid, abet, induce, indulge, engage in offering online money gaming services, nor shall be involved in any advertisement which directly or indirectly promotes any person to play any online money game".

The recent development has left the BCCI searching for a new sponsor ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, which is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28.

ALSO READ: PCB Chairman Reacts To Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan's Asia Cup Snub

In a recent statement, Dream11 said, "We have always been a law-abiding company and have always conducted our business in compliance with the law. While we believe that progressive law would have been the way forward, we will respect the law and fully comply with the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025'.

Talking about Dream11, apart from sponsoring the Indian teams, they also ventured into the IPL, where they roped in several top players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah as their brand ambassadors. In 2020, they even became the trophy sponsor of the IPL, replacing Chinese firm Vivo.

They are also the official fantasy partner of the Caribbean Premier League and the title sponsor of Super Smash. They also have engagements in the Australian domestic T20 competitions, the Big Bash League and the Women’s Big Bash League. Back in 2018, they also partnered with the International Cricket Council.

Dream11 is also the official fantasy partner for the Indian Super League and is associated with the Pro Kabaddi League and the International Hockey Federation.

 

BCCI looks for new sponsorship deal

With the Asia Cup just a few days away and the Women’s ODI World Cup approaching as well, the BCCI is now planning to float a new tender soon.

However, with almost no time left for the Asia Cup, it would be a challenge for the BCCI to find a title sponsor for the men’s team. The board officials, on the other hand, are confident that a new partner will be successfully brought on board in the next few weeks, following the tender process.