Highlights
- More than 100 Dream Sports staff depart after the company moved employees into new startup-style business units.
- About 15% of 700 reassigned staff left after the company split operations.
- The 2025 gaming law erased about 95% of Dream Sports’ revenue, forcing a shift toward sports entertainment and new ventures.
More than 100 employees have exited Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, following an internal restructuring. The move was triggered by India’s ban on online real-money gaming (RMG). The company noted roughly 15% of the 700 employees reassigned to newly created startup-style units chose to leave.
The restructuring followed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), which came into force in August 2025. The law banned online games where users deposit money expecting cash rewards. The change wiped out about 95% of Dream Sports’ revenue and all of its profits, forcing the company to reorganize its operations.
Dream Sports split its business into eight independent units in December 2025, shifting into what CEO Harsh Jain described as “startup mode.”
The units include Dream11, sports streaming platform FanCode, sports travel service DreamSetGo, and mobile title Dream Cricket. They also include the artificial intelligence (AI) initiative Dream Sports AI, which includes the sports analytics app Dream Play.
Dream Sports Shifts to Sports Entertainment After Real-Money Gaming Ban in India
Additional units include the fintech offering Dream Money, the open-source initiative Dream Horizon, and the philanthropic Dream Sports Foundation. The company stated employees were placed in ventures based on experience and interest areas.
A company spokesperson said some employees preferred roles at established companies rather than in early-stage operations. Around 15% chose to leave to join larger firms or start their own ventures.
Dream Sports reported that its attrition rate is now only slightly above the roughly 10% level seen before the ban. The company currently employs around 950 people and is not hiring new staff, focusing instead on retaining its workforce.
Meanwhile, as part of cost-saving efforts, Dream Sports also relocated its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex to Worli earlier this year. The new Dream Sports Stadium office brings teams together to improve collaboration and efficiency.
Dream Sports, founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, reached an $8 billion USD valuation. This followed an $840 million funding round in 2021 backed by investors including DST Global, Redbird Capital, Falcon Edge, TPG, D1 Capital, Tiger Global, and Footpath Ventures.
The shift reflects wider disruption across India’s real-money gaming sector. Companies, including WinZO, MPL, and Games24x7, have also restructured or pivoted after the 2025 law banned cash-based online gameplay. Several platforms are now exploring free-to-play models and other services.
