After India’s real-money gaming ban, Dream11 takes its game global

After facing a major setback in India, fantasy sports major Dream11 aims to go global, and plans to launch across major markets including New Zealand, Canada, the US, UK, Australia and the UAE.

"The world’s largest fantasy sports platform is going global! ✈️ What started as a dream here is now crossing borders, connecting fans, and building communities everywhere. This isn’t just an expansion. It’s the beginning of a worldwide community where sport has no boundaries. From metros to match days, from screens to stadiums, the passion for sport is now global. Made in India. Now global. 🌏," the company said in a social media post.

So far, the Tencent-, TPG-, and Tiger Global-backed unicorn has not revealed if it'll offer real-money games (RMG), a vertical that comprised 80% of its now-banned business in India, in these markets, or not. However, it's seen as a positive development for the homegrown startup, which was once valued at $8 billion but faced an overnight ban on its RMG business after the Online Gaming Bill in August 2025.

Since then, the company has expanded to different verticals, including non-cash prize games like Flex and Dream Money. The models like Flex are free-to-play with ads, and prioritise meaningful, contextual partnerships to increase user experience. The company has tied up with companies like Swiggy, Astrotalk, and Tata Neu to create a new kind of online gaming ecosystem. The model allows online cricket gaming fans, who formed a large user base of Dream11 before the ban on RMG, to gain access to free-to-play games, while brands gain access to over 250 million users under Dream Sports platforms. Through Dream Money, the company is eyeing to allow investments in gold and fixed deposits.

The company had closed the RMG business two months after the Centre came up with the Online Gaming Bill, which made all money-based games in India illegal. "We have always been and will always be a law-abiding company, and have conducted our business in compliance with the laws. While we believe that progressive regulations would have been the right way forward, we will respect the law and will fully comply with the Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Law, 2025," the company had stated.

Apart from Dream 11, Dream Sports also runs companies like FanCode, DreamSetGo and Dream Game Studios, and Dream Sports Foundation. According to Mint, the company is also planning to foray into the stock broking industry, and it has applied for a licence with the markets regulator Sebi.

Harsh Jain-led company, in an email response to Fortune India earlier, said that it would not lay off any of its employees after the new gaming bill forced it to shut down its highly profitable RMG business. With a strength of around 500-1,000 employees, Dream Sports has been one of the most affected companies by the said ban. As a consequence of the new law, Dream11 had also backed off from its ₹ 358 crore jersey sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).