In addition to new users, the fantasy sports site had 15.01 million concurrent users. Dream11 has teamed up with eight teams this season to sponsor them in the IPL. The IPL T20 Fantasy Leagues have grown in popularity alongside the introduction of the IPL.
As the highly anticipated 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) began on Friday (March 22), fantasy gaming unicorn Dream11 claimed to have added 1.1 million new users on the first day of the competition.
Dream11 provides a fantasy game platform for a variety of sports, including fantasy cricket, football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, handball, and baseball. It is an online game where users construct a virtual squad of real-life players and receive points depending on their performance in real matches.
Harsh Jain, cofounder, and CEO, came to X to reveal the numbert of users. In addition to new users, the fantasy sports site had 15.01 million concurrent users.
The IPL 2024 opening ceremony took place on Friday evening at Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium. The IPL T20 Fantasy Leagues have also grown in popularity as a result of the introduction of this elite event for fantasy cricket fans.
“TATA IPL fantasy cricket is a virtual skill-based game designed solely for recreational purposes. However, if you use your knowledge of the game, you can reap various benefits and experience the thrill of owning your own TATA IPL 2023 Fantasy Team! However, in order to taste delicious triumph, you must have some IPL fantasy tips up your sleeves,” Dream11’s website stated.
Dream11 has sponsored eight IPL teams this year: the Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals.
Last year, it added 5.5 crore new members to its site, the majority of whom are between the ages of 25 and 60. Furthermore, at least 28% of the users were from the top 115 Indian Tier I and II cities. Notably, the number of female users increased by 79% year on year.
Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth created the company in 2008, and its revenue comes from fantasy games and the selling of merchandise. For the fantasy sports business, the group counts the platform fee collected from users as revenue, often known as gross gaming revenue (GGR).
In September 2023, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Mumbai (DGGI) issued Dream11 a show cause notice of INR 28,294.19 Cr under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, during the regulatory dispute over taxation in the real money gaming sector.
The notice applies from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2023, and states that the company’s online Fantasy Sports, which include betting, should be subject to GST. So, instead of applying GST at the 18% rate on platform fees, the notice stated that the tax should be applied at a higher rate of 28% on the total contest entry cost.
In July last year, the GST Council increased the tax imposed on real money games to 28%, which would now be payable on gross revenue or entire prize pool. The modified provision went into effect on October 1.
Dream11’s net profit increased by 32% to INR 187.83 crore in the fiscal year 2022-2023 (FY23), while operational revenue increased by 66% to INR 6,384.49 crore.
Meanwhile, the startup’s focus remains on the Indian market because there are sufficient opportunities, and it has no ambitions to grow abroad, Jain stated at the ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ in New Delhi.
