Dream11 completes shift away from fantasy gaming

Bengaluru: Dream11 has completed its transition away from fantasy sports, dropping all prize-based contests and repositioning itself as a global sports engagement platform, the company said on Thursday.The move marks a sharp break from the business that made Dream11 one of India’s best-known gaming companies. The platform will now focus on sports content, live streaming, scores, statistics, commentary, communities, fan experiences and social contests.The shift comes about a year after India banned online money games under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, forcing Dream11 and other real-money gaming companies to discontinue paid contests. Rules under the law came into force from May 1 this year.Dream11 had continued experimenting with free-to-play formats after the ban. Its latest move goes further, removing prizes altogether and expanding the platform beyond its core fantasy gaming business.The company said the new Dream11 will be an “AI-first” platform, offering personalised feeds based on the sports, leagues, teams and players followed by users. It also plans to expand across multiple sports and target audiences globally.“With 300 million users, Dream11 understands what a true sports fan really wants—not just the sport, but the community,” CEO Vaibhav Kokal said. The company is building a platform “made in India, for the World”, he added.The transition underlines the extent to which the regulatory reset has reshaped the real-money gaming industry. Fantasy sports companies had built their businesses around users paying to enter contests and competing for cash prizes. That model was effectively shut down after the Centre prohibited online games involving monetary stakes.For Dream11, the challenge now is to convert its vast fantasy sports user base into an audience for content and other forms of sports engagement. Its new offering will range from watching matches and tracking scores to interacting with other fans and booking sports experiences.The move also places Dream11 in a much broader and more competitive market, where it will vie for users’ attention with sports broadcasters, streaming platforms, social media companies and dedicated sports-content apps, rather than primarily competing with other fantasy gaming firms.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.