The Dream11 business model used to earn almost all of its money from a platform fee on paid fantasy contests, but the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 ended that in August 2025, and the company now relies on advertising, sponsorships and its other businesses. Many guides still describe the old model as current, so check the date of anything you read.
The Short Answer
Dream11’s revenue structure changed almost overnight.
- Before August 2025, it kept a fee from the entry money users paid into paid fantasy contests
- After the Act banned real-money online games, paid contests were discontinued on 21 August 2025
- Dream11 now offers free-to-play games and earns from advertising and sponsorships, while sister businesses add other lines
- Its parent is Dream Sports, which also owns FanCode, DreamSetGo, DreamCricket and Dream Money
How It Used to Make Money?
The old model was simple and very profitable.
- Users paid entry fees to join contests, and Dream11 kept a platform fee, often called the rake, from the pool
- CEO Harsh Jain said paid contests generated roughly 95% of revenue and 100% of profits, while Wikipedia says over 90% of revenue
- FY25 operating revenue at Dream Sports was ₹6,759.3 crore, down 14.8% from ₹7,933.8 crore
- Total income was ₹7,374.4 crore, including ₹615 crore of other income
- FY25 was nonetheless a loss year, which the report ties to the cost of reverse flipping, meaning moving the group’s domicile back to India
What the Ban Did?
The Act removed the core product.
- It bans real-money online games and restricts related payments and advertising
- Dream11 paused paid contests and stepped back as Team India’s lead sponsor
- Jain said the company would keep all employees and rebuild
- The group has since been organised into eight semi-autonomous business units, each run like a startup, according to one analysis
The Tax Overhang
An old dispute sits over the whole business.
- Auditors flagged a pending GST demand of ₹28,294.19 crore
- Together with the discontinued gaming business, they said it creates a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern
- That’s a statement in the audit note, not a prediction of outcome, but it explains why the company’s finances are uncertain
The New Core: Free-to-Play and Advertising
Dream11 now sells attention instead of contest entries.
- The platform said it had over 250 million registered users and about 10 million daily active users shortly after the pivot
- Nearly 70% of users are aged 18 to 35, according to the company
- It began onboarding brands selectively, with Swiggy and Tata Neu named as partners
- Revenue now comes from advertising and sponsorships, with free fantasy games as the draw
The Second-Screen Pivot
Dream11 has repositioned as a sports companion.
- A second-screen sports entertainment product offers creator-hosted watch-alongs, live reactions and free fantasy games
- One analysis says about 100 creators, including R Ashwin and Tanmay Bhat, were onboarded for IPL 2026
- The platform is described as free and monetised only through advertising
- The bet is that sports fans will keep coming, and brands will pay to reach them
FanCode
The sports streaming arm now carries more weight.
- FanCode is a sports content and streaming platform with about 160 million lifetime users, according to one analysis
- It’s described as the group’s primary revenue engine after the ban, with a subscription model including low-priced plans starting at ₹1,499 a year
- It sells subscriptions, advertising and commerce, and the sources don’t give its revenue
Other Businesses
The group has been seeding new lines.
- DreamSetGo: sports travel
- DreamCricket: a mobile cricket game
- Dream Money: a micro-investing platform offering fixed deposits, gold and mutual funds, which announced a partnership with ONDC
- Dream Play: pivoted to an AI analytics platform for padel, according to one report
- One analysis says FanCode and DreamSetGo already generate real revenue, while other products are still burning cash
Where Sources Disagree?
Some pages are misleading.
- One 2026 profile describes Dream11 as still earning a platform fee and “profitable” under a 28% GST regime, which conflicts with the discontinuation of paid contests
- The share of revenue from paid contests is quoted as roughly 95% and as over 90%
- No source I found gives post-ban revenue or profit, so any figure for the new model is an estimate
Risks
The new model faces real uncertainty.
- Advertising revenue is far smaller than contest fees, and it must grow to replace them
- The GST demand and going-concern note are unresolved
- Creator-led products and new verticals are unproven
- Free-to-play users don’t pay, so Dream11 depends on brands
FAQs
Q1. How does Dream11 make money now?
A. Mainly from advertising and sponsorships on its free-to-play platform, plus subscriptions and other businesses in the group such as FanCode.
Q2. Is Dream11 still offering paid contests?
A. No. It discontinued them in August 2025 after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
Q3. How much revenue did paid contests bring in?
A. Roughly 95% of revenue and all profits, according to CEO Harsh Jain.
Q4. What was Dream Sports’ FY25 revenue?
A. Operating revenue of ₹6,759.3 crore, with total income of ₹7,374.4 crore.
