Dream Sports on Friday announced its decision to stop all paid contests on Dream11. The development follows the passage of the Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 — widely known as the Online Gaming Bill — which has also received the President’s assent after both houses of Parliament cleared it swiftly. Dream11 is a flagship brand owned and operated by Dream Sports, a sports technology company. Dream Sports is the umbrella corporation housing Dream11.
Big transformation for Dream11! From pay-to-play to free-to-play…
Dream Sports took to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to announce its immediate shift to a free-to-play online social gaming format. “This morning, we stopped all paid contests on Dream11 and pivoted entirely to a free-to-play online social game,” it wrote on X.
Stating that it has “always” conducted its business in compliance with the laws, Dream Sports lamented that “progressive regulations would have been the right way forward”.
“We will respect the law and will fully comply with the Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Law, 2025,” Dream Sports wrote.
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Dream Sports also said it backs Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make India “a global sporting superpower”.
The end of the road for pay-to-play…
The Online Gaming law bans all forms of money-based online gaming nationwide. For Dream Sports, the lion’s share of its revenue was reportedly driven by Dream11’s pay-to-play contests with its user base of around 28 crore.
What’s next for Dream Sports? Sports tech it is…
Looking ahead, Dream Sports said it will lean on its wider portfolio to drive growth, including FanCode (sports media), DreamSetGo (sports travel) and Dream Game Studios (game development).
“When we started this journey 18 years ago as a Sports Tech company, we were not even 1 per cent of the size of the USA Fantasy Sports industry. Dream11’s Fantasy Sports product was our way to ‘Make Sports Better’ for all of India,” wrote Dream Sports.
“Thank you for all your love and trust. See you in our second innings,” the company said, signalling both an end and a new beginning of an era in sports technology.
See you in our second innings. pic.twitter.com/RemY2Sp7xB
— Dream Sports (@DreamSportsHQ) August 22, 2025
