Dream11 pivots to free-to-play, banks on ads and sponsorship revenue

Dream11 moves to a free-to-play model following a gaming ban, focusing on ads and sponsorships with 10 million daily users and partnerships with brands like Swiggy and Tata Neu

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Dream11 on Tuesday said it is pivoting to a free-to-play product backed by advertisements and sponsorships, adding that advertisers have shown interest in tapping into its registered user base of over 250 million.

 

The company said its platform is currently recording 10 million daily active users.

 

The focus on revenue from sponsors and advertisements comes at a time when the company’s core real money gaming business of fantasy sports was shut down last month after the enactment of the new online gaming act.

 

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 banned all forms of real money games such as rummy, poker, ludo and fantasy sports involving cashouts, among others.

 

“Dream11’s pivot, coupled with 10 million daily active users, opens up exclusive, high-impact opportunities for brands to connect with cricket audiences. Unlike passive advertising, Dream11 integrates brands directly into the competition…” the company said in a statement.

 

In terms of user demographics, Dream11 said that 70 per cent of its registered user base was in the 18–35 age group, with the rest over 35.

 

It added that advertisers such as Swiggy, Astrotalk and Tata Neu have partnered with Dream11.   

It said that brands can tailor their campaigns to different cohorts, whether engaging young mobile-first fans, families in smaller towns, or seasoned cricket lovers in metros, making campaigns contextually relevant.

 

“Over the years, many brands have shown strong interest in partnering with Dream11, and now, after our pivot to free-to-play fantasy sports, we have begun onboarding them selectively,” Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer, Dream Sports, said.

 

He explained that the platform will enable advertisers to measure engagement and access the audience of transacting users with Dream11 previously.

 

“This journey of reimagining fantasy sports makes the experience more inclusive, competitive and passion-driven, while giving advertisers quality reach, measurable engagement and access to a very rich audience of millions of historically transacting users,” he added.

 

Other companies in the real money gaming space are also scouting for new business models. Gaming platform Zupee is rolling out a short video content platform.

 

The platform, called Zupee Studio, will feature audio-visual episodes across genres including romance, drama, thriller and comedy. 

These episodes will have a length of one to three minutes, the company said. Zupee has more than 150 million registered users in the country.

 

Previously, game platform WinZO rolled out ZO TV with a focus on short video content.

 

The company also expanded its presence to the United States after Brazil and India, with plans to grow its intellectual property portfolio, make strategic investments and scale product offerings. WinZO has a base of more than 250 million global users.