Dream11 Parent Expands Into Real-Money Gaming With Dream Play

• Dream Sports (owner of Dream11) has launched Dream Play, a real-money casual gaming platform starting with Carrom and soon adding Pool and other titles.

• Players can enter skill-based multiplayer tournaments for cash rewards, including larger “Mega Contests” where winners take the full prize pot.

• The format shift may help offset the impact of India’s 28% GST on casual games by reducing rapid churn and boosting margins.

Dream Sports, the owner of fantasy-sports behemoth Dream11, has officially stepped into India’s casual real-money gaming market with the launch of Dream Play. It’s a new platform that currently features Carrom and will roll out Pool and other games over the next few months. The move pits the company directly against rivals like MPL, Zupee, WinZO and Games24x7 as it broadens its offerings beyond fantasy sports into high-frequency, short-session titles.

Dream Play lets players enter skill-based multiplayer tournaments for cash rewards. Its Carrom option comes in Classic and Freestyle flavours, plus larger “Mega Contests” where the top scorer in a timed match takes the entire pot. These big-contest formats matter: industry insiders say casual games bore the brunt of the 28% GST overhaul, since shorter sessions mean fewer games per user and faster cash-outs, which squeeze margins. By staging larger contests, Dream Sports may be trying to smooth out that churn.

The timing is striking. Dream Sports is still grappling with the fallout from the new GST regime and retrospective tax demands, alongside more than 50 other gaming firms, that add up to over ₹1.5 lakh crore. The Supreme Court did grant a stay in January 2025, but the final verdict is pending. For now, Dream Sports is absorbing the extra tax itself, aiming to keep its user base from shrinking in this price-sensitive market.

This push into casual RMG is both defensive and forward-looking. Fantasy sports remain Dream Sports’ bread and butter, but its seasonal nature has driven the company to hunt for year-round engagement. In FY23, operating revenue soared 66% to ₹6,384 crore. Yet reports in Moneycontrol warn that FY24 could see revenue plunge 40–50%, with operating profit down about 80%.

Beyond Dream11, the group runs FanCode (sports content), DreamSetGo (sports tourism), Dream Game Studios (mobile game dev) and a CSR arm under Dream Sports Foundation. In the past year, it’s rolled out CRIQ, an AI-driven cricket companion, and Dream Picks, a lighter, faster fantasy app using four-player teams across both innings.

The company has moved its legal domicile from Delaware back to India, a growing trend among Indian startups as local regulations evolve. This switch may help with domestic fundraising, simplify compliance and underscore a long-term bet on India’s regulatory regime, even as that regime keeps shifting.

Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports last held an $8 billion valuation after raising $840 million in late 2021. But with regulatory complexity rising and the core fantasy segment showing signs of maturity, Dream Play is the group’s attempt to stay relevant, competitive and diversified in India’s rapidly evolving gaming ecosystem.