“We will not challenge the law in court,” Harsh Jain, Dream11 CEO on RMG ban
In an interview with Storyboard18, Harsh Jain, Co-founder and CEO of Dream Sports, spoke about the shock decision by the government to ban legitimate online real money gaming industry and why the industry failed to self-regulate.
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The Indian online real money gaming industry was jolted after the government imposed a blanket ban on real-money gaming (RMG) by passing the Promotion and Regulation of Online Money Gaming Bill, 2025, a move that wiped out nearly 95% of revenues for Dream11, the country’s largest fantasy sports platform. In an interview with Storyboard18, Harsh Jain, Co-founder and CEO of Dream Sports, spoke about the shock decision by the government to ban legitimate online real money gaming industry, why the industry failed to self-regulate, Dream11’s plans to rebuild under a new “3.0 model,” and the company's decision not to legally challenge the government’s ban.
The government’s decision to ban real-money gaming (RMG) has shocked the industry. How do you view this decision?
I don’t want to comment on the decision itself, but what I wish is that regulations had come in instead of an outright ban. That’s what we had been asking for over many years. For example, Tamil Nadu had launched regulations with KYC, player limits, and time limits. It addressed all concerns while ensuring government tax revenues and keeping the black market out. I wish similar regulations had been implemented nationally, rather than a ban.
There are reports that Dream11 is pivoting to finance. Can you clarify your plans?
We’re not pivoting to finance. DreamMoney was launched months ago — this is not something we did after the ban. We saw an opportunity to help Indians start their investment journey, even with as little as ₹10 in SIPs or gold. Our aim is to promote financial literacy and show users the magic of compounding.
With Dream11’s RMG model shut, what does the future look like for Dream Sports?
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.”
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.
Free-to-play (F2P) models are often seen as financially unviable. How do you see them working for Dream11?
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.
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.
With such revenue losses, will Dream Sports resort to layoffs?
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, 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.
Dream11 has been a key sponsor for BCCI. What is the status of that partnership now?
We’ve had a decade-long relationship with the BCCI, which we deeply value. Our current agreement runs for three years and we’re in the last six months of it. Any decision about the partnership will be made mutually. We’ve already discussed the impact of the ban with them, and we’ll work out a mutually beneficial way forward.
The government said the ban was meant to block offshore betting companies. Yet many of them are still targeting Indian users with heavy discounts and ads. What’s your take?
Whenever something is banned, the black market usually grows. We’re already seeing offshore betting firms offering aggressive discounts to Indian users. The government has said they’ll crack down on such operators, and I hope they succeed. But on the internet, it’s much harder to control compared to offline retail.
Did the industry fail to anticipate or prevent this ban, do you find this a failure of policy and advocacy teams?
Yes, the entire industry was caught off guard. We first heard about the bill in the news on a Tuesday. By Wednesday, it was tabled in Lok Sabha, Thursday in Rajya Sabha, and by Friday the President had signed it into law. It was a complete shock.
In hindsight, the industry failed to strongly self-regulate years ago. Multiple self-regulatory bodies were proposed, but we never united under one. A few of us signed a code of ethics six months ago, but we should have done much more earlier to protect consumers and keep bad operators out.
Do you think internal infighting within the operators and federations played a role in its downfall?
Yes, I do. We should have been stronger at self-regulation and worked together instead of letting divisions weaken the industry.
Gaming Federations AIGF, FIFS, EGF had written to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking help to avoid passage of the Bill, did you or other industry leaders meet with Home Minister Amit Shah?
Not me. I can’t speak for everyone, but as far as I know, no meeting has happened.
Do you believe the ban was politically motivated?
I don’t think this is personal. This is business, and the government has to make decisions for the country. India is a democracy, and lawmakers decide what’s best. As a businessman, I want to protect my company and industry, but we’ve always been law-abiding.
When our business model was constitutionally protected, we ran it. Now that the law has changed, we’ve complied immediately — even before the ban was formally signed. And I can say clearly: Dream11 will not challenge this law in court.
Does that mean you’ve given up the legal fight?
Not at all. It’s about respecting the law. When GST was raised, we complied without going to court, even though it hurt us. Similarly, today’s law prohibits RMG, so we won’t challenge it. However, if someone tries to retroactively claim our past operations were illegal gambling, we will defend ourselves, because back then we were constitutionally protected.
