Dream11
Product brand
UnclaimedAn Indian fantasy-sports platform built around skill-based virtual team competitions, primarily in cricket.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Dream11 is an Indian fantasy-sports platform operated within the Dream Sports group. It allows users to assemble virtual teams from real athletes and earn points according to those athletes’ statistical performances in live sporting events. Cricket has historically been the platform’s central sport, although its format has also extended to football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, handball and baseball. The company was co-founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth. Its early development focused on bringing fantasy sports to Indian audiences, and in 2012 it introduced a freemium model for cricket fans. Users could participate in free contests or, where legally permitted, pay an entry fee to join prize-based contests. The platform’s appeal rests on the combination of sports knowledge, statistical judgment, roster selection and ongoing engagement with real matches. Participants select a constrained team of real players, and the resulting fantasy score is calculated from the players’ performances on the field. Users compete on leaderboards against other participants. Dream11 expanded during the growth of mobile internet, Indian cricket fandom and digital payments. The company reported approximately 1 million registered users in 2014, 2 million in 2016 and 45 million in 2018. In April 2019 it became the first Indian fantasy-sports company to reach unicorn status. Dream Sports raised a major funding round in 2021, and Dream11 was reported as being valued at approximately $8 billion in November of that year; these are private-market valuation figures rather than public-company market capitalisation. In October 2023, the platform said that it had reached 200 million users. Marketing and distribution have been closely tied to sports rights, league partnerships, sponsorships and celebrity endorsements. Dream11 became an official fantasy partner of several major competitions and sports bodies, including the Caribbean Premier League, Indian Super League, NBA, International Cricket Council, Pro Kabaddi League and International Hockey Federation. It also secured the title sponsorship of the 2020 Indian Premier League after Vivo withdrew from that season, and later acquired lead jersey sponsorship rights for the Indian national cricket team for the period beginning in 2023. The platform’s legal position has been shaped by Indian courts and differing state-level rules. In 2017, the Bombay High Court held that participation in Dream11 involved substantial skill, judgment and attention, and that skill predominated over chance. The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to that conclusion. Nevertheless, fantasy gaming has remained subject to regulatory limits, and Dream11 has periodically suspended operations in particular states. It stopped operating in Karnataka in 2021 after a state prohibition affecting online gambling and resumed there in 2022 after the Karnataka High Court reversed the relevant restriction. In August 2025, following Parliament’s passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, Dream11 discontinued paid contests and retained free-play activity. The change materially altered the platform’s traditional business model because paid contests had represented more than 90 percent of reported revenue according to the cited reference material. Dream11 therefore remains an important Indian sports-technology brand, but its operating model after the 2025 regulatory change is materially different from the paid fantasy-contest model that drove its earlier expansion.
History
Dream11 was founded in India in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth. The founders developed the business around fantasy sports, a format in which users create virtual teams made up of real athletes and receive points from those athletes’ performances in actual matches. Cricket became the platform’s principal sport because of its large and highly engaged Indian audience. A major early product development occurred in 2012, when Dream11 introduced freemium fantasy sports for cricket fans. The model combined free participation with paid contests where permitted. Users were required to make selections based on available players, match conditions and expected performance, making roster construction and statistical judgment central to the experience. The service subsequently broadened beyond cricket into football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey and other sports. Dream11’s user base expanded alongside smartphone adoption and the growth of digital payments in India. The company reported roughly 1 million registered users in 2014 and 2 million in 2016. By 2018, the reported figure had risen to 45 million. During this period the brand increased its association with professional sports through sponsorships and official fantasy partnerships. Its 2017 relationships included the Caribbean Premier League, Indian Super League and NBA. In 2018 it added or announced relationships involving the ICC, Pro Kabaddi League, International Hockey Federation, Women’s Big Bash League and Big Bash League, while also adding kabaddi and hockey fantasy formats. Legal recognition became a central part of Dream11’s development. In 2017, litigation before the Bombay High Court examined whether the platform constituted gambling or a game of skill. The court concluded that the outcome was predominantly influenced by users’ knowledge, judgment and attention. The Supreme Court later dismissed a challenge to that finding. The ruling supported operation in much of India, but it did not create a uniform national position: several states continued to restrict fantasy or real-money gaming, and regulatory interpretations remained contested. Dream11 became the first Indian fantasy-sports company to attain unicorn status in April 2019 after Steadview Capital completed a secondary investment. Other reported investors included Kalaari Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity and Tencent. The wider Dream Sports group also launched FanCode in April 2019 as an ad-free multisport platform combining content, commerce and community functions. Dream11 continued to use high-profile sports associations as a growth mechanism. It won the title sponsorship of the 2020 Indian Premier League after Vivo withdrew, and in 2021 Dream Sports raised $840 million from a group of international investors. Dream11 was reported to have an $8 billion valuation in November 2021 and said in 2023 that its user base had reached 200 million. Brand marketing included cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a later group of cricket ambassadors. In 2022, the company added actors Kartik Aaryan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, marking an expansion beyond sports personalities. Dream11 also maintained ambassador relationships with prominent Indian cricketers and sponsorship relationships across domestic and international competitions. Regulatory developments continued to affect operations. Dream11 suspended service in Karnataka in October 2021 after the state prohibited online gambling, then resumed in February 2022 after the Karnataka High Court reversed the relevant restriction. In August 2025, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, outlawing real-money online games according to the cited reference. Dream11 consequently paused all paid contests on 21 August 2025. Free contests remained part of the platform’s offering, but the regulatory change substantially disrupted the paid-entry model that had defined Dream11’s earlier commercial structure.
- 2025
Paid contests are discontinued
[1]Dream11 pauses paid contests after India passes legislation prohibiting real-money online games.
- 2023
Reported user base reaches 200 million
[1]Dream11 claims to have 200 million users.
- 2021
Dream Sports raises $840 million
[1]The parent group completes a major funding round led by a consortium of international investors.
- 2020
Dream11 becomes IPL title sponsor
[1]Dream11 secures title sponsorship of the 2020 Indian Premier League after Vivo withdraws from the season.
- 2019
Dream11 becomes a unicorn
[1]A Steadview Capital secondary investment makes Dream11 the first Indian fantasy-sports company to reach unicorn status.
- 2019
FanCode is launched
[1]Dream Sports launches FanCode as an ad-free multisport platform for content, commerce and community engagement.
- 2018
User base reaches 45 million
[1]Dream11 reports growth to approximately 45 million users and broadens its sports partnerships and formats.
- 2017
Bombay High Court recognizes the game as skill-based
[1]The court holds that skill, knowledge, judgment and attention have a predominant influence on Dream11 outcomes.
- 2014
Registered users reach one million
[1]The company reports approximately one million registered users.
- 2012
Freemium cricket fantasy launches
[1]Dream11 introduces a freemium fantasy-sports model aimed initially at cricket fans.
Products and positioning
Dream11 positions itself as a sports-engagement and skill-gaming platform that combines fans’ knowledge of real competitions with fantasy team management, statistical analysis and competitive leaderboards. Its brand has historically emphasized sports expertise and strategy rather than games of chance, while its commercial visibility has been built through cricket sponsorships, league partnerships and mass-market advertising.
Fantasy sports · 2012
Fantasy Cricket
Dream11’s core product is a fantasy-cricket format in which users select virtual squads from players participating in real cricket matches. Points are assigned using the selected players’ match statistics, and users compete in contests and leaderboard rankings. Cricket has remained the brand’s most prominent sport and the foundation of many of its sponsorships and advertising campaigns.
Fantasy sports
Fantasy Football
The football product applies Dream11’s roster-selection and statistical-scoring model to real football fixtures. Users construct teams from eligible players and receive points linked to events such as goals, assists, defensive actions and other match statistics, subject to the platform’s contest rules.
Fantasy sports · 2018
Fantasy Kabaddi
Dream11 introduced kabaddi as one of its major non-cricket fantasy formats through its partnerships with Indian sports competitions. The product lets users select virtual kabaddi lineups and compete using performance-based scoring from live matches.
Fantasy sports · 2018
Fantasy Hockey
The fantasy-hockey format extends the Dream11 model to hockey competitions. It was added during the company’s wider 2018 expansion into additional sports and uses real-player performance statistics to determine fantasy scores.
Fantasy sports
Other fantasy sports
The platform has also supported fantasy contests in basketball, volleyball, handball and baseball. Availability and contest structure may vary according to sport, competition, jurisdiction and applicable regulation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Celebrity ambassador expansion
India
Dream11 appointed Kartik Aaryan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu as ambassadors, its first reported use of prominent non-sports celebrities in this role.
Outcome. Broadened the brand’s appeal beyond its established cricket-ambassador strategy.
- 2019Multi-channel IPL ambassador campaign
India
Dream11 signed seven cricketers and partnered with seven Indian Premier League franchises as part of a broad campaign.
Outcome. Increased visibility across IPL audiences and franchise media channels.
- 2018Dimaag se Dhoni
India
Dream11 used Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the face of a campaign that framed fantasy-sports participation as an exercise in cricket knowledge and strategic thinking.
Outcome. Expanded Dream11’s mass-market cricket positioning.
- 2018Harsha Bhogle brand ambassador campaign
India
Dream11 signed cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle as a brand ambassador for the 2018 Indian Premier League period.
Outcome. Strengthened the platform’s association with cricket analysis and match engagement.
Brand decisions
2025
Discontinuation of paid contestsStrategyBackground
Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which prohibited real-money online games according to the cited reference.
Action taken
Dream11 paused all paid contests on 21 August 2025 while retaining free-play activity.
Aftermath
The decision removed the platform’s traditional paid-entry contest model and significantly changed its business economics.
Share of revenue attributed to paid contests. Over 90% (Before the August 2025 suspension)
2023
Indian national cricket team jersey sponsorshipOtherBackground
Dream11 sought a larger and more sustained association with Indian cricket.
Action taken
The company acquired lead jersey sponsorship rights for the Indian national cricket team from July 2023 through March 2026.
Aftermath
The deal made Dream11 the principal commercial brand displayed on the team’s cricket jerseys during the contracted period.
Sponsorship rights fee. ₹358 crore (July 2023 to March 2026)
2020
Indian Premier League title sponsorshipOtherBackground
Vivo withdrew as title sponsor of the 2020 Indian Premier League season.
Action taken
Dream11 won the replacement title sponsorship rights for the season.
Aftermath
The sponsorship placed the Dream11 name prominently across one of India’s most visible sporting competitions.
Title sponsorship fee. ₹222 crore (2020 Indian Premier League season)
2018
Expansion into additional sportsStrategyBackground
Dream11’s early identity was strongly associated with cricket, while Indian sports leagues were increasing their digital reach.
Action taken
The platform added or expanded fantasy formats for kabaddi and hockey and developed relationships across multiple sports.
Aftermath
Dream11 became a broader fantasy-sports platform while retaining cricket as its principal category.
2012
Launch of freemium fantasy sportsProduct launchBackground
Dream11 sought to build an Indian fantasy-sports audience, initially concentrating on cricket.
Action taken
The company introduced free and paid fantasy-cricket contests based on real-player performances.
Aftermath
The model became the foundation for the platform’s subsequent user and revenue growth.
Recent events
Reported
Dream11 suspends operations in Karnataka[3]
Dream11 said it had decided to suspend operations in Karnataka to address users’ safety concerns following the state’s online gambling ban. The company said the decision was not intended to comply with the ban.
Reported
Dream11 funding round closes[4]
Dream Sports, which owns Dream11, closed a $400 million funding round led by TCV, D1 Capital Partners and Falcon Edge. Dream11 was valued at nearly $5 billion.
Reported
Sunrisers Hyderabad unveils sponsors for IPL 13[5]
Sunrisers Hyderabad unveiled sponsors for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. JK Lakshmi Cement was identified as title sponsor, with Ralco Tyres and Valvoline also named as principal sponsors; several other brands were announced as partners.
Sources5 sources
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