The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the development after the introduction of the Online Gaming Bill in the Parliament last week. Dream11 had gotten into an agreement with the BCCI in 2023, on a three-year contract.
The online fantasy gaming app Dream11 has parted ways with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), following the introduction of the Online Gaming Bill in the Parliament last week. Dream11, the online gaming wing of Dream Sports, replaced Byju’s as the principal sponsor of the Indian teams in March 2023 for three years until 2026.
Dream11 shut its fantasy gaming on Friday, August 22, which constituted its 2/3rd of its revenue and consumer base after the introduction of the Gaming Bill, which puts a ban on the real-money gaming aspect of online gaming and hence the withdrawal. This means that the BCCI is left without a main sponsor on the shirt before the Asia Cup and the Women’s World Cup, both set to kick off next month.
“BCCI and Dream11 are discontinuing their relationship with each other after the Online gaming bill. BCCI will ensure not to indulge with any such organisations ahead in future,” BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI.
As per ‘The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill’, “no person shall offer any, aid, abet, induce, indulge, engage in offering online money gaming services nor shall involve in any advertisement which directly or indirectly promotes any person to play any online money game” which directly cracked down on the central revenue generating medium for all the sports fantasy gaming apps and websites.
The bill aims to encourage e-sports and online social games while prohibiting harmful online money gaming services, advertisements, and financial transactions related to them. The bill seeks to completely ban offering, operating, or facilitating online money games, irrespective of whether based on skill, chance, or both.
However, Dream11 might not have to pay a penalty for not being able to complete the contract, given a specific clause in the BCCI contract about getting a waiver in case there is a government regulation in place.