Dream11

Dream11 is a fantasy sports platform based in India[1] that allows users to play fantasy cricket, hockey, football, kabaddi and basketball.[2][3] In April 2019, Dream11 became the first Indian gaming company to enter the ‘Unicorn Club’.[4]

Not to be confused with Dream 11
DREAM11
Sports Tech
IndustryFantasy Sports
Founded2008
FounderHarsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth
Headquarters
Mumbai, India
Area served
India
Websitewww.dream11.com

History

Dream11 was co-founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008.[5][6] In 2012, they introduced freemium fantasy sports in India for cricket fans.[7] In 2014, the company reported 1 million registered users, which grew to 2 million in 2016 and to 45 million in 2018.[8][9] It is a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) and is the founding member of the Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG).[10] Dream11 is a Series D funded company with Tencent leading the latest round.[11][12] In April 2019, Steadview Capital completed secondary investment in Dream11. Apart from Steadview, Dream11’s investors included Kalaari Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity and Tencent.[4]

In June 2018, Dream11[13] reported that it has 4 million users, up from 2 million users in 2017.[14][15] The company also made to the list and ranked 9 among India's Great Mid-Size Workplaces - 2018. Dream11 was also recognised as one of the top 10 innovative companies in India by Fast Company in 2019.

Legality

In 2017, a case was registered against the company in an Indian High Court. The court, in its ruling, stated that playing the Dream11 game involves superior knowledge, judgement and attention. The Court also held that ‘the element of skill’ had a predominant influence on the outcome of the Dream11 game. However, the law does not allow Fantasy Sports in few Indian States like Assam, Odisha and Telangana.[16]

A challenge to this judgement was filed with the Supreme Court of India, which dismissed the appeal.[17] The judgement provided legality to the company and allowed them to run their operations throughout the country.[18]

Despite it being adjudged to be a "game of skill", experts believe that the company operates in the country's regulatory "grey area".[19][20]

Partnerships

In March 2019, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced Dream11 as the Official Partner for the VIVO Indian Premier League. The four-year exclusive partnership started with IPL 2019 season. Additionally, the ‘Official Fantasy Game’ of IPL will also be powered by Dream11.

In 2018, Dream11 announced its partnership with ICC (International Cricket Council),[21] Pro Kabaddi League,[22] International Hockey Federation (FIH),[23] WBBL and BBL[24]. In 2018, through the above partnership, Dream11 introduced two new games on their platform viz.,Kabaddi and Hockey.

In 2017, the company partnered with three leagues within cricket, football and basketball. Dream11 became the Official Fantasy Partner for Hero Caribbean Premier League, Hero Indian Super League and National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] Later in the year, they partnered with the Hero Indian Super League as their Official Fantasy Football Partner.[25][26] In November 2017, US professional basketball league National Basketball Association (NBA), launched a fantasy basketball game in association with Dream11 and launched their official NBA fantasy game on their platform.[27][28]

Brand ambassadors

Cricketer & Ex-Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the brand ambassador of Dream 11 and launched the “Dimaag se Dhoni” media campaign during the 2018 Indian Premier League.[29] The company had first signed commentator Harsha Bhogle as their brand ambassador in 2017.[30] For 2019 IPL, Dream11 signed up seven cricketers and partnered with seven Indian Premier League franchise as part of its multi-channel marketing campaign. [31]

Game format

Dream11 provides a fantasy gaming platform for multiple sports such as cricket, football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, and baseball. It is an online game where users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points based on the performances of these players in real matches.[32] A user who scores the maximum points in their joined contests attains the first rank on the leader-board. Dream11 offers free and paid contests. A user has to pay a certain fee to join a contest and can win real cash.[33] To participate in a Dream11 game, a user must be at least 18 years old and needs to get their profile verified using their PAN.

Dream11 Foundation

Dream11 Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dream11 that aims to help people in their time of needs. Recently, Dream11 Foundation pledged Rs.3 crores over a period of 3 years to support IFSG’s athlete support programme, Stars of Tomorrow.[34] This programme has been created with an aim to identify and support India’s future sporting talent. As a result of a selection process led by GoSports, out of the 168 entries received from across the country, 13 athletes have been selected to be part of IFSG’s Stars of Tomorrow.[35] Athletes selected under the programme will be offered support to help them reach their sporting goals.

References
  1. Gooptu, Biswarup (2018-04-19). "Internet giant Tencent in advanced talks to invest $100 million in Dream11". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  2. "How to setup your Dream11 app and earn money during this IPL 2018". The Indian Express. 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  3. "FoxyMoron bags the digital mandate For Dream11 - ET BrandEquity". ETBrandEquity.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  4. www.ETtech.com. "Steadview investment catapults Dream11 into Unicorn league - ETtech". ETtech.com. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  5. "Vikrant Mudaliar is Dream11's new CMO". www.afaqs.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  6. "Important Movers and shakers Of The Week [05-10 Feb 2018]". Inc42 Media. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  7. Vaidya, Jaideep. "Game of skill in a regulatory grey area: How Dream 11 and premium fantasy sport is booming in India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  8. "Outlook India". Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  9. Laghate, Gaurav (2018-03-23). "How fantasy sports is becoming a multi-billion dollar business globally". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  10. Bureau, BW Online. "2 out of 3 Online Cricket Fans Aware of Fantasy Sports in India". BW Disrupt. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  11. "Tencent leads $100 mn investment in fantasy sport platform Dream11". VCCircle. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  12. "Dream11 closes $100 M funding led by Tencent; inches towards Unicorn status - YourStory | DailyHunt". DailyHunt. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  13. "Dream11 STARS | Dream11 Team | Daily Prediction and Preview". Dream11 STARS | Dream11 Team | Daily Prediction and Preview. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  14. "Fantasy Sports to have 100 million users in India by 2019, the journey has just begun: Harsh Jain, Chairman, IFSG & CEO, Dream11 - The Financial Express". www.financialexpress.com. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  15. "From growth of Fantasy Sports platforms to their legality in India, Harsh Jain, CEO of Dream11 answers our queries". The Indian Express. 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  16. "Telangana's Gaming act forbids fantasy cricket game Dream11".
  17. "Fantasy sports see an uptick with paid users, legal clarity during IPL - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  18. "SC rejects appeal to initiate criminal action against Dream11, does this end the debate on fantasy sports legality? - Gambling Laws". glaws.in. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  19. Vaidya, Jaideep. "Game of skill in a regulatory grey area: How Dream 11 and premium fantasy sport is booming in India". Scroll.in.
  20. Singh, Kuwar; Singh, Kuwar. "A fantasy sports startup has entered the unicorn club thanks to India's IPL fever". Quartz India.
  21. Laghate, Gaurav (2018-11-14). "Dream11 becomes ICC's fantasy game partner". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  22. "Startup Street: How Dream11 Is Cashing In On India's Growing Love For Fantasy Sports". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  23. "FIH announces a first-of-its-kind partnership with India's biggest sports game Dream11 | FIH". www.fih.ch. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  24. IANS (2018-12-14). "Dream11 announces partnership Australia's BBL". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  25. "Dream11 ropes in Happy mcgarrybowen for rebranding". The Drum. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  26. "Tencent eyes $100 Mn investment in Fantasy sports platform Dream11". Entrackr. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  27. "Dream11 selects FoxyMoron to strengthen digital presence". www.televisionpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  28. "NBA and Dream11 to bring fantasy basketball to India". Indian Television Dot Com. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  29. "Dhoni becomes brand ambassador of gaming platform". The Times Of India. 6 March 2018.
  30. "Dream11 releases new TVC #KheloDimaagSe with brand ambassador MS Dhoni".
  31. "Dream11 signs up with 7 IPL teams and 7 cricketers for marketing campaigns - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
  32. "Play game on Dream11 app and earn money". Rajasthan Patrika. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  33. "Leo Burnett Orchard wins the creative duties of Dream11". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  34. "Indian Federation of Sports Gaming receives Rs 3cr aid to promote non-mainstream sport athletes". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  35. India, Press Trust of (2018-12-05). "IFSG unveils 'Stars of Tomorrow' initiative, to back 13". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
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