In a major development ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, fantasy sports platform Dream11 has informed the BCCI that it will no longer be able to sponsor the India cricket team.
This development comes after the Indian Parliament on August 21 passed the “Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025,” which has banned real-money gaming services on platforms like Dream11.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Dream11, who are lead sponsor of BCCI, have informed the board about their decision.
“(Representatives of) Dream11 visited the BCCI office and informed CEO Hemang Amin that they won’t be able to continue… As a result, they won’t be the team’s sponsors for the Asia Cup. The BCCI will float a new tender soon,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.
The decision has left the BCCI without a title sponsor just weeks before the Asia Cup 2025, which is scheduled to be played on September 9 in the UAE.
The BCCI will invite fresh bids for jersey sponsorship, but with time constraints, India cricket team may play without a lead sponsor on their jerseys during the Asia Cup 2025, which will be an unusual occurrence.
Jerseys with the Dream11 logo will not be used during the Asia’s premier cricket tournament despite already being printed.
The report further mentioned that the pullout from Dream11 will not attract any penalty since the contract includes a clause which stipulates that if the sponsor’s core business is impacted by any law brought by the Government, they “won’t be liable to pay anything” to the cricket board.
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Dream11’s Association With BCCI And IPL
Dream11, which is one of the biggest fantasy gaming platforms in the country, acquired the rights to become the BCCI’s lead sponsor in a three-year deal worth Rs 358 crore in July 2023. The fantasy sports platform took over from educational technology venture Byju’s.
The agreement between Dream11 and BCCI included a per-match fee of Rs 3 crore for home games and Rs 1 crore for away games.
Notably, Dream11 also has a strong presence in the Indian Premier League (IPL) through partnerships with multiple franchises. Over the years, several star players such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah have served as its brand ambassadors.
In 2020, the company stepped in as the IPL’s title sponsor after Chinese firm Vivo pulled out.