“If we lay off talent, we should shut down” — Dream11 to cut marketing spends
The pivot underscores how India’s largest fantasy sports platform is seeking to reimagine itself in a post-RMG environment — betting on innovation, AI, and global expansion rather than job cuts to weather the storm.
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India’s ₹30,000 crore real-money gaming (RMG) industry, which employed more than two lakh people before the government’s sudden ban, has been thrown into turmoil. For Dream11, the country’s largest fantasy sports platform, the disruption meant an overnight wipeout of nearly 95% of its revenues. Yet, co-founder Harsh Jain has made it clear: jobs will not be sacrificed.
Instead of trimming its 1,000-strong workforce, across Dream Sports is redirecting its resources. Over 500 engineers, who previously focused on maintaining existing RMG systems, will now pivot to future-focused initiatives in artificial intelligence, sports content, commerce, and fan experiences. Industry associations estimate that India's Rs 30,000 crore (about $3.7 billion) real-money gaming sector had supported over two lakh jobs before the ban.
Harsh Jain said, "Overnight, 95% of our revenues disappeared. So we’re focusing more aggressively on our other businesses: FanCode, DreamSetGo, DreamCricket, and DreamMoney. At the same time, we’re working on what I call “Dream11 3.0.”
He traced the company’s evolution, saying, "Dream11 1.0 (2008–2012) was non-RMG. Dream11 2.0 (2012–2025) was RMG-based. Now we’re building Dream11 3.0, a new model. The core idea of fantasy sports is still loved — people enjoy competing with friends, building teams, and showing sports knowledge. That engagement doesn’t go away just because money isn’t involved. Our challenge is to make it more engaging, find a sustainable business model, and maybe even take it global as a Make-in-India product."
With free-to-play formats presenting monetization challenges, Jain said the company is experimenting with new approaches, "We’ll explore how much we can generate from advertising and sponsorships under an F2P model. We’ll also take the game global to find its true ceiling. At the same time, we’ll manage expenses carefully and redeploy resources to future opportunities, especially AI.
Highlighting the role of Dream11’s engineering talent, Jain noted, "We have 500 engineers who were previously focused on maintaining existing systems. Now, we’ll redirect them toward building for the future — AI-driven innovations in sports content, commerce, merchandising, and fan experiences."
On speculation of job cuts, he was categorical: "No. Talent is our most important asset. The only way out of this hole is by building great products, and that requires great talent. Talent comes first, and it will be the last thing to go. If we ever have to start laying off talent, that would be the day we should consider shutting down."
Instead, Dream11 will be tightening discretionary spending."We’ll cut marketing, advertising, and partnership spends. But our people stay — and they’ll be deployed to new initiatives like Sports and AI and scaling our existing portfolio."
The pivot underscores how India’s largest fantasy sports platform is seeking to reimagine itself in a post-RMG environment — betting on innovation, AI, and global expansion rather than job cuts to weather the storm.
