More than 100 executives have left Dream Sports following a major operational reorganization. This restructuring into multiple independent units was a response to a regulatory ban on online real money gaming in India, which erased 95% of the company's revenue.
The company states that after placing employees into new startup units, around 15% chose to leave, as they were more suited to scaled businesses. Attrition is reported to be slightly higher than the pre-ban rate, and the firm is now focused on retaining existing staff rather than new hiring.
The regulatory ban has impacted the entire industry, leading other gaming firms like Gameskraft and Mobile Premier League to pivot their models and conduct significant layoffs. Dream Sports itself has pivoted to a "second screen sports platform," expanding into areas like fintech, sports streaming, and AI.
Main Topics: Executive departures and attrition at Dream Sports; business model pivot due to regulatory ban on real money gaming; industry-wide impact including layoffs and restructuring at competitors.
More than 100 executives have left Dream Sports, after the parent company of fantasy sports platform Dream11 reorganised its operations into multiple units following the regulatory ban on online real money gaming in India, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the Mumbai-based firm pivoted its business model, it has seen a sharp decline in revenue generation.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports, said in response to ETâs queries, âDream11âs 700 employees were placed into these startups based on their experience and affinity in those domains. Since some of these employees were experienced with specifically running and growing high scale businesses, and not startups, around 15% of them chose to leave and join other scaled up businesses as expected, while a few decided to start ventures of their own. Our current attrition is only slightly higher than the 10% we saw before the ban.â
The company is not hiring new talent and is focused on retaining its existing workforce, the spokesperson added.
The executives who left the firm in recent months were from customer support, engineering and data functions, said one of the persons cited earlier, adding that the number might increase as the company continues to realign its organisational structure.
When the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which put a blanket ban on real money gaming, was passed in August last year, several companies operating in the sector announced workforce reductions.
In an interview with ET after the ban last year, Dream Sports cofounder Harsh Jain said, âWe may need some cuts, but talent will be the last thing to go.â He added that any future plans for the company would start with the right talent.
Also Read: ETtech In-depth: Banned in India, but itâs business as usual for offshore real money gaming firms
In December last year, the gaming company said it was recasting itself as a âsecond screen sports platformâ, moving beyond its fantasy gaming roots to tie itself more closely to live broadcasts after the regulatory ban erased 95% of the companyâs revenue and 100% of its profits. It has since split its businesses into separate units, each operating independently.
These include Dream11, fintech app Dream Money, sports streaming platform FanCode, artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, mobile game Dream Cricket, sports travel platform Dream Set Go, open source initiative Dream Horizon and philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
Several other platforms, including Mobile Premier League, Zupee and Winzo, have also pivoted to free-to-play formats and diversified into other businesses. Many of these firms have reduced headcount significantly as part of broader cost cutting efforts.
In January, ET reported that Zupee had laid off around 200 employees in a second round of workforce reductions as it sought to realign operations and cut costs.
Gameskraft axed more than 400 employees, representing more than 80% of its workforce, as of December. Similarly, Games24x7 laid off around 500 employees from a workforce of about 777, as of July 31 last year.
Mobile Premier League late last year laid off around 350 employees as it wound up all real-money gaming operations in India. Hike, which operated the real money gaming platform Rush, also announced a full shutdown of its real-money gaming business in India.
Dream Sports has raised $942 million from investors including Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Alpha Wave Global, and was last valued at $8 billion, according to Tracxn.
While the Mumbai-based firm pivoted its business model, it has seen a sharp decline in revenue generation.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports, said in response to ETâs queries, âDream11âs 700 employees were placed into these startups based on their experience and affinity in those domains. Since some of these employees were experienced with specifically running and growing high scale businesses, and not startups, around 15% of them chose to leave and join other scaled up businesses as expected, while a few decided to start ventures of their own. Our current attrition is only slightly higher than the 10% we saw before the ban.â
The company is not hiring new talent and is focused on retaining its existing workforce, the spokesperson added.
The executives who left the firm in recent months were from customer support, engineering and data functions, said one of the persons cited earlier, adding that the number might increase as the company continues to realign its organisational structure.
When the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which put a blanket ban on real money gaming, was passed in August last year, several companies operating in the sector announced workforce reductions.
In an interview with ET after the ban last year, Dream Sports cofounder Harsh Jain said, âWe may need some cuts, but talent will be the last thing to go.â He added that any future plans for the company would start with the right talent.
Also Read: ETtech In-depth: Banned in India, but itâs business as usual for offshore real money gaming firms
In December last year, the gaming company said it was recasting itself as a âsecond screen sports platformâ, moving beyond its fantasy gaming roots to tie itself more closely to live broadcasts after the regulatory ban erased 95% of the companyâs revenue and 100% of its profits. It has since split its businesses into separate units, each operating independently.
These include Dream11, fintech app Dream Money, sports streaming platform FanCode, artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, mobile game Dream Cricket, sports travel platform Dream Set Go, open source initiative Dream Horizon and philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
Several other platforms, including Mobile Premier League, Zupee and Winzo, have also pivoted to free-to-play formats and diversified into other businesses. Many of these firms have reduced headcount significantly as part of broader cost cutting efforts.
In January, ET reported that Zupee had laid off around 200 employees in a second round of workforce reductions as it sought to realign operations and cut costs.
Gameskraft axed more than 400 employees, representing more than 80% of its workforce, as of December. Similarly, Games24x7 laid off around 500 employees from a workforce of about 777, as of July 31 last year.
Mobile Premier League late last year laid off around 350 employees as it wound up all real-money gaming operations in India. Hike, which operated the real money gaming platform Rush, also announced a full shutdown of its real-money gaming business in India.
Dream Sports has raised $942 million from investors including Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Alpha Wave Global, and was last valued at $8 billion, according to Tracxn.
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