Cricket, cricketers and real money gaming bill

REAL MONEY GAMING BAN

Cricketers are set to lose a significant chunk of their endorsement income [File] © AFP

The exit of Dream11 as the jersey sponsor of the Indian team is just a fragment in a large ecosystem dominated by the fantasy gaming company. The BCCI, traditionally a glue to the corporates and advertisers, will likely bounce back soon enough – may even onboard a sponsor by next fortnight itself when the Asia Cup starts – but the ripple effect of the government’s decision to ban real money gaming will be felt across industry. By the cricketers too.

Gaming companies have been among the biggest spenders on advertising and endorsements, and cricketers will be among the most affected by the government’s latest decision. Almost every Indian cricketer seen on television and holding an IPL contract has a tie-up with the real-money gaming firms. From Virat Kohli to Rahul Chahar, virtually every player was associated with them – and those sponsorship deals will now be off the table.

Players such as Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and the Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal – were contracted to Dream11, while Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh and even Sourav Ganguly endorsed My11 Circle, the other major player in the real-money gaming market. Virat Kohli was associated with MPL, while MS Dhoni endorsed Winzo – both gaming firms that now stand to lose their marquee deals.

The brand endorsement values varied from player to player: Kohli’s contract, for instance, was estimated at around INR 10-12 crore annually, while Rohit Sharma and Dhoni were believed to be in the INR 6-7 crore bracket. For younger or lesser-known players, the figures hovered around INR 1 crore. Collectively, Indian cricketers are likely to lose between INR 150-200 crore a year from these terminated contracts as the latest law bans ‘advertising and promotion of money games across all forms of the media.’

For the top players, these contracts may account for only about 5-10 percent of their overall endorsement income. But for some, the impact would be far greater – ranging from 50 to even 100 percent. Mohammed Siraj, for instance. Until recently, he was associated with three brands. So the loss of My11 Circle translates to a 33 percent cut in his endorsement earnings, just like Washington Sundar, who too has three brand endorsements. Sundar was associated with Dream11. For some other players, it effectively wipes out their entire endorsement income as these companies were the only brands on their roster.

Impact on the IPL and industry overall

The immediate fallout of the bill was on the jersey sponsorship but soon the IPL and the franchises will also lose sponsors. My11 Circle is an associate sponsor of the IPL contributing INR 125 crore a year to the BCCI. The company had signed a five-year deal with the IPL and three more years left in the contract. Inevitably, the BCCI will have to look for another associate sponsor, even if it were not to be immediately

Besides, quite a few teams, including KKR, LSG and SRH, have these gaming companies as their sponsors earning them somewhere between INR 10-20 crore a year. That will go too. The impact also will be across the smaller leagues like legends leagues and state level tournaments. These leagues will lose out on revenue majorly.

Experts say because of the bill, the advertising industry will lose close to INR 8,000-10,000 crore a year. “In terms of overall advertising spends, these gaming companies contribute around 7-8 percent of the market. Nearly 80 percent of that will vanish, since real money gaming accounts for 75-80 percent of the overall gaming market. So that is one big impact. Roughly 7-8 percent of total ad spends and about 15-20 percent of digital ad spends will also disappear, because their share in digital advertising is higher,” says Karan Taurani, executive vice-president, Elara Capital.

“This was the amount being spent on cricket and cricketers. Now, I think endorsements for cricketers will take a hit. Their brand value and income are bound to decline. While players endorse multiple products, the real money gaming segment contributed significantly to their endorsement revenue, which could drop by 20-25 percent. Broadly, that translates to about INR 8,000-10,000 crore,” the industry expert thinks.

What is the bill about

It is being suggested that the government’s decision was influenced by many complaints from gamers who were losing crores of rupees daily. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while hailing the approval of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, said it would “save our society from the harmful effects of online money games.” Critics, however, argue that if online gaming is being treated as a social issue, then so too should liquor, gambling, and casinos. Some even contend that the move could drive gamers towards illegal betting markets.

But the government has remained firm. The bill imposes a complete ban not only on such games but also on their advertisements and promotions across traditional and social media. To implement the measure, banking pathways and channels facilitating these transactions have also been blocked.

The Central Government will set up a national-level authority – or designate an existing one – to oversee the sector. Its functions will include the categorisation and registration of online games, determining whether a game qualifies as a money game, addressing complaints and grievances, and issuing guidelines, orders, and codes of practice to ensure compliance. Any breach or offence will attract imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to INR 1 crore.

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