Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain: Received’t legally problem real-money gaming ban by Indian govt

Dream Sports, the dad or mum of fantasy sports activities big Dream11, has stated it is not going to problem the federal government’s ban on real-money gaming, ending hypothesis that the sector’s largest participant would transfer court docket towards the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.

The new legislation has erased 95% of Dream Sports’ income and 100% of its income, marking the tip of the real-money gaming business in India.

“The government has made it clear they don’t want this. We won’t waste energy fighting and will do what’s allowed by law…if regulation changes again, we’ll re-evaluate,” cofounder and CEO Harsh Jain instructed ET. “We’d rather build for the future than litigate the past.”

Jain stated the pace of the shutdown had surprised the corporate, calling it a “knockout punch.”Dream Sports was final valued at $8 billion in 2021, when it raised $840 million from marquee buyers together with Alpha Wave Global, Tiger Global, DST Global, and TPG.

The invoice moved swiftly: cleared by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday, passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday, by Rajya Sabha on Thursday, and signed into law by the President on Friday. “In 72 hours, a 14-year-old business was gone,” Jain stated.

The Mumbai-headquartered Dream11 had grown quickly after the Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld fantasy gaming as a sport of ability in 2017, a view reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 2019. It now claims 260 million registered customers, which Jain stated could be the cushion as the corporate resets.

Tax blows earlier than the ban

Despite its dominance, the agency was not resistant to regulatory shocks. The new legislation follows the GST Council’s 2023 determination to levy 28% tax on full face value, which had already hit the sector onerous by retrospective calls for. “The retrospective tax demand of Rs 2.5 lakh crore is 10x our revenue,” Jain stated. “Even public companies got notices worth more than their market cap. If this stands, it will send 400 firms to the National Company Law Tribunal.. It’s a death blow.”

Betting on AI

With real-money gaming off the desk, Dream Sports is pinning its future on sports activities AI, free-to-play fan engagement, and creator-led merchandise. “We’ve built a brand loved by millions and know how to scale profitably. AI will disrupt every part of sports, content, commerce, performance, coaching, and we can go AI-first to build for that opportunity,” Jain stated, including the corporate nonetheless has 800 staff, together with 500 engineers, and sufficient capital to assist a reset.

ETtech

Dream11 has shifted to free-to-play fantasy contests with ad-sponsored prizes. Jain pointed to parallels with the English Premier League’s Fantasy Premier League, the place followers spend on third-party analytics instruments regardless of no money winnings.“People play for bragging rights and intellectual challenge. The creator economy will be huge,” he stated.

Other Dream Sports verticals proceed unaffected, together with FanCode, its sports activities streaming and merchandising platform with contracts for F1 and La Liga, and DreamSetGo, its sports activities journey enterprise.

Also Read: Dream11 parent testing app to foray into financial services under DreamSuite Finance

A tough reset

“It’s like moving from working in a pre-IPO company to suddenly being in a Series B startup. That’s the mindset shift everyone has to make,” Jain stated.

On March 31, ET reported that Dream Sports had quietly shifted its domicile from Delaware, US, to India by the reverse merger route. Dream Sports Inc merged with Mumbai-based subsidiary Sporta Technologies. It was among the many first examples of a new-age agency utilizing the fast-track mechanism for cross-border mergers, below which a international holding entity can merge with its Indian subsidiary with out NCLT approval.

Founded in 2008 by Jain and Bhavit Sheth, the corporate had no quick IPO plans, although Jain admitted the timing of the flip-back was “not great,” given the tax liabilities incurred within the US.

“Entrepreneurs have to be delusionally optimistic. Even after losing 95% of revenue and 100% of our profits, we still have FanCode, DreamSetGo, Dream Cricket, Dream Money, and a strong team. This is the hardest hit in 18 years, but we will come back,” Jain stated.

Jain underscored that with Dream11’s income and income impacted, the corporate’s valuation can even reset.

“The valuation of the company is going to plummet…but investors have to look at it almost like a fresh investment. Given what they know about the company, the team, founders, user base, and brand, I think they’ll back us. Indians are ready to build global products,” he stated.

“These are very early days, but I’m confident I will have the complete support of our board and most investors to pursue these opportunities,” he added.

Even earlier than the ban, GST adjustments had already pushed the corporate into the pink after greater than 5 years of profitability. For FY23, Dream Sports reported a revenue of Rs 188 crore on income of Rs 6,384 crore. It has but to file financials for FY24 and FY25.

Jain stated present money reserves present the corporate with just a few years of runway.

In 2023, Dream11 signed a Rs 358-crore deal to sponsor the Indian Cricket Team, with its emblem on the jersey till March 2026. But with the ban, it’s now in discussions with the BCCI on the right way to transfer ahead. “On the Dream11 side, we are going to slash all our marketing spends to zero,” Jain stated. “We are in touch with them (BCCI) on how to resolve this going forward.”

Also Read: BCCI begins process to find new sponsor following Dream11’s exit