The successful passage of federal legislation that seeks to ban real money gaming (RMG) has had severe consequences for some of India’s largest operators, including Dream11.
Reports from India suggest that operators including My11Circle, Zupee, Gameskraft, Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Probo have all shut down their real money gaming operations, following the landmark government decision.
In the case of Probo, it has confirmed that it has shut down both its opinion trading app and fantasy cricket platform, Team 11.
A Probo spokesperson said in a statement: “As unfortunate as it is, we respect the Government of India’s latest Online Gaming Bill. In light of this development, Probo has decided to discontinue its real money gaming operations with immediate effect until further notice.”
Far reaching consequences
Perhaps the largest casualty so far from the legislation is Dream11.
According to the Indian news outlet Entrackr, Dream11 is winding down its real money gaming operations in response to the online gaming bill.
This decision threatens to have severe economic consequences for the brand, given that RMG reportedly constitutes over two-thirds of the company’s revenue.
Although it is understood that Dream11 will now shift focus to expanding its non-RMG ventures, such as Fancode and Sportz Drip, it is unlikely to rake in the same level of revenue achieved by its RMG operations.
This is particularly significant for the finances of India’s national sport, cricket.
Dream11 currently serves as the shirt sponsor of India’s men’s, women’s and under-19’s national cricket team,
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that it has reached out to relevant authorities to confirm if the Dream11 logo can appear on national team kits following the successful passage of the bill.
According to the Dream Sports website, Dream11 has partnerships with 40 sports associations around the world, which includes the likes of The Hundred cricket competition in the UK, the NBA and the Big Bash T20 cricket League in Australia.
Dream11 appears unlikely to be able to sustain such levels of spending on sports partnerships if it loses such a significant source of revenue because of the bill.
iGaming Expert has reached out for comment from Dream11.
Background of the bill
India’s Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have both passed the Promotion and Regulations of Online Gaming Bill 2025, which seeks to prohibit the promotion of real money games due to the perceived negative societal impacts.
The definition covers all forms of online betting and gaming, including fantasy sports and games like poker, rummy, and lotteries. The bill states that no person ‘shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in” the offering of online money games and such services. However, online social games and esports are not included as part of the ban.
Promoting or facilitating RMG platforms will now be a criminal offence. First-time violations may result in up to 3 years in prison or ₹1 crore (€110,000) in fines, while repeat offenders face at least 3 years in jail and fines up to ₹2 crore (€220,000).
It is estimated that over 450 million Indian citizens play RMG games each year, and the bill has been introduced amid concerns surrounding the “psychological and financial harm” that can be caused by such games.
“Online money gaming has become a matter of concern as such platforms have led to addiction and have also been used for fraud and cheating and it has also led to financial losses to people,” said Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking before a voice vote passed the bill in the House.
The bill now only needs the signature of the Indian President, Droupadi Murmu, to be enacted as a law.
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