Dream11, one of the largest daily fantasy sports platforms in India, has announced that it is withdrawing from the country after a sweeping ban on all gambling-related activities, including fantasy contests and dual currency platforms, such as sweepstakes.
Dream11 also has a three-year deal with the Indian cricket team, but it will have to end it prematurely, because of the new sweeping ban on the activity. The deal is reportedly valued at $43.6 million.
India’s National Cricket Team Loses Its Largest Partner
The fantasy platform has already informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it will have to quit the existing deal, and also not be able to fund future partnerships, at least while the ban is still in place. The BCCI is also reportedly now looking for a new sponsor.
Other than the national team, Dream11 will be ending its partnerships with Indian Premier League teams, leaving some prominent franchises without a backer. Dream11 also has a user base of about 220 million people, making it potentially the largest legal sports fantasy platform in the world.
The reasons behind the ban are ill-defined. Lawmakers have lambasted gambling as an originator of social ills, but fantasy platforms are the least addictive form of gambling, or at least not as harmful as other verticals.
What’s more, research has shown time and again that outlawing an already established ecosystem would only result in greater societal harm. The 220 million users registered with Dream11 are highly unlikely to stop participating in fantasy contests, something they probably do weekly.
The alternative is new and emerging offshore platforms that are not worried about compliance and that only seek to acquire customers without maintaining a robust standard of safety. The offshore market in India is about to get a lot more attractive, with the last bastions of semi-regulated gambling now being dealt away with.
As Dream11 and other known platforms wind down, offshore operators are preparing for the influx of discontent gamblers – running in the millions.