New Delhi, Aug 25
Devajit Saikia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, confirmed on Monday that the board's association with fantasy sports company Dream11 has ended, and deliberations over finding a new lead sponsor is on.
Dream11 had signed a three-year deal worth Rs 358 crore in July 2023 to replace edtech company Byju's as the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team. It also had a significant presence in the Indian Premier League (IPL) through multiple franchise tie-ups and being lead sponsor in 2020 after Vivo's pullout.
But after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 was passed in both Parliament houses last week, as well as got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu, Dream11 said it suspended all money-based online gaming contests on its platform.
"Under the new legislation, it will be difficult for BCCI to continue with Dream11 or any other identical gaming companies. So, there is a roadblock and I don't think BCCI will be able to continue with Dream11 now. We are deliberating on an alternative course of action at this stage," said Saikia to IANS.
It is understood that Dream11 will not incur any penalties, with the contract having a clause safeguarding the sponsor in case its core business is banned by the government and that they won't be liable to pay anything to the BCCI.
Asked if the BCCI will float a new tender soon for the Indian team's sponsorship, especially with just a fortnight left for the Men's T20 Asia Cup to happen in the UAE from September 9-28, Saikia said, "We have not finalised anything, but we'll have to have an alternative now. Because with Dream11 going away, there will be some vacancy in the sponsorship slot. So, we have to have an alternative, not a replacement. What we'll have to do and how we are going to do it, on that, we are deliberating now."
"Dream 11 will not be with us anymore, under the new law. So we still have some time, at least 20 days or in fact, just about 15 days. So, if something develops within these 15-20 days, there will be a replacement. Otherwise, we'll see how it will progress over a period of time."
Apart from Dream11, another fantasy sports company My11Circle's deal with the BCCI is also under a big cloud of doubt. Since 2024, My11Circle is needed to pay Rs 125 crore annually to the BCCI for being the official fantasy partner of the IPL. But it might have to go the Dream11 way of ending its money-based gaming business.
- IANS
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