After the new online gaming law was passed in Parliament, Indian cricket team’s main jersey sponsor Dream11 ended its sponsorship deal with the BCCI almost a year before the scheduled expiry. Since then, the board has been looking for a new sponsor. With the Asia Cup starting on September 9, BCCI is trying to finalize a jersey sponsor for Team India before the tournament, but due to limited time, the deal might get delayed. According to an NDTV report, the BCCI has now shifted its focus to finding a new sponsor for the 2025-2028 period, with the new sponsorship deal expected to be worth around ₹450 crore, which is significantly higher than Dream11’s payment.
Dream11 had signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the BCCI, under which it was supposed to pay ₹358 crore. However, after the implementation of the new online gaming law, the company terminated the agreement early. As per the new regulations, any online game involving monetary participation from users has been declared illegal. In recent years, several online gaming platforms related to cricket had grown rapidly, attracting millions of users who would invest money to create teams, hoping to win big but often losing their money. The government, therefore, introduced the law to curb such activities, making platforms like Dream11 face significant challenges.
Related: Will India Play Without a Sponsor in Asia Cup 2025? Dream11 Pulls Out
According to NDTV’s report, BCCI is now accelerating its search for a new jersey sponsor for Team India for 140 matches scheduled between 2025 and 2028. The new sponsor will have to spend more than what Dream11 paid. The sponsorship rights will cover Team India’s home series, bilateral series abroad, and multi-nation tournaments.
BCCI has set a target of ₹3.5 crore per bilateral match and ₹1.5 crore per match for ICC and ACC tournaments. While this is higher than what Dream11 was paying, it is still lower than the amount paid by Byju’s during its sponsorship tenure.
Dream11 had originally signed its three-year ₹358 crore deal with BCCI in July 2023.