Dream11 Goes Global: India’s Fantasy Sports Giant Takes On 11 New Countries

Dream11 has started its journey into the world market. The company is now opening its doors in 11 countries. This includes big markets like the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and United Arab Emirates. This move comes at a very important time for Dream11. The company had to change its whole business after India passed a new gaming law in August 2025.​

Why Dream11 Had To Change Everything

Dream11 was doing very well in India before the new law came. The company had 250 million users who loved playing fantasy sports. But things changed very fast when the government passed a new rule. This rule said that no gaming company can offer games where people pay money to win more money.​

Harsh Jain is the person who started Dream11 along with Bhavit Sheth. He told people in August that 95% of all money the company made came from paid contests. All the profits also came from the same place. But the new law banned this type of gaming. So Dream11 had to stop all paid games within just 72 hours.​

The speed of this change was shocking for everyone at Dream11. Jain said it felt like a “knockout punch” to their business. A company that took 14 years to build was completely changed in just three days. The company went from making thousands of crores to almost zero overnight.​

Dream11 Opens In 11 Countries Around The World

Dream11 is now taking its platform to 11 countries. The company will be available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and United Arab Emirates. These are big markets where many people love sports.​

But Dream11 is not just stopping there. The company is also going into New Zealand, Canada, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. All these countries will get access to Dream11. But there is one big difference from how things worked in India before.​

Dream11 will not offer real money games in any of these new markets. The company learned from what happened in India. Now Dream11 is using a free-to-play model in all 11 countries. Users can play for free and win prizes. But they do not need to pay money to join contests.​

The parent company of Dream11 is called Dream Sports. When news reporters asked them about this big move, Dream Sports said they would not comment on the development. But everyone in the gaming world is watching what happens next.​

How Dream11 Will Make Money Now

Dream11 had to think of new ways to make money after the ban. The company cannot use paid contests anymore. So they came up with a new plan. This plan is based on getting money from brands and companies who want to reach Dream11 users.​

Dream11 started working with big brands in September 2025. Companies like Swiggy, Astrotalk, and Tata Neu became partners with Dream11. These brands pay money to show their ads on Dream11. They also sponsor contests where users can win prizes from these brands.​

The way Dream11 shows ads is different from other apps. Instead of just putting banner ads on the screen, Dream11 puts brands right inside the game. Users see brand messages while they are creating teams and joining contests. This makes the ads more interesting and useful.​

Vikrant Mudaliar works as Chief Marketing Officer at Dream Sports. He said that many brands wanted to work with Dream11 for years. But Dream11 was too busy with paid contests. Now that the company has changed to free-to-play, they can work with more brands. They are choosing brands carefully to make sure users have a good experience.​

Dream11 Still Has Millions Of Active Users

Even after all the changes, Dream11 still has a very strong user base. The platform now has 10 million people playing every single day. These users come to Dream11 to create fantasy teams and compete with friends.​

The total number of registered users on Dream11 is more than 250 million. This is a huge number. It means Dream11 has one of the biggest sports fan communities in the world.​

Most Dream11 users are young people. About 70% of all users are between 18 and 35 years old. Another 25% of users are between 35 and 60 years old. This means Dream11 has users of all ages who love sports.​

Dream11 users come from all parts of India. Many users live in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. But many others come from smaller towns and villages. About 72% of Dream11 users live outside the big metro cities. This shows that Dream11 is popular all over India, not just in rich areas.​

Dream11 Brings New Features For Users

Dream11 did not just change its business model. The company also added new features to keep users interested. One of the biggest new features is called Flex.​​

Flex is a very different way to play fantasy sports. With Flex, users can create their own private leagues. They can set their own rules. They can decide how many players each team should have. They can choose how many matches to include. They can even change how points are given to players.​​

This feature makes Dream11 more personal. Users can create leagues just for their friends and family. They can make the rules as easy or as hard as they want. This keeps the game fun and fresh even without money prizes.​​

Dream11 also added another feature called Backups. This helps users replace players who do not play in the actual match. Sometimes a cricket player gets injured or is dropped from the team at the last minute. With Backups, users can automatically replace that player. This makes sure their fantasy team stays strong.​

Other Indian Gaming Companies Also Go Global

Dream11 is not the only Indian gaming company that is going to other countries. Many other companies are also looking at markets outside India. This happened because of the same gaming law that affected Dream11.​

Mobile Premier League is another big gaming company from India. People usually call it MPL. This company has been in international markets for some time now. MPL has its platform in Europe, United States, and Nigeria. About 40% of all money that MPL makes now comes from these international markets.​

MPL first went to Europe in 2022. The company joined hands with GameDuell. This is a company in Berlin, Germany that makes card and board games. After that, MPL went to the United States. The company has been working in America for two years now. In 2023, MPL also started operations in Nigeria. This was the first time an Indian gaming company went to Africa.​

WinZO is another gaming platform from India. This company recently announced that it is also going to the United States. WinZO made this announcement in August 2025, right after the Indian government banned real money gaming.​

WinZO had already gone to Brazil in 2023. The company spent 25 million dollars to enter the Brazilian market. Now with the US launch, WinZO is in three of the four biggest gaming markets in the world. These three markets are India, Brazil, and the United States. Together these markets are worth between 65 and 70 billion dollars.​

WinZO also started something new along with its US launch. The company introduced a short video platform called ZO TV. This platform shows short drama videos. WinZO wants to mix gaming and video content together. The company hopes this will bring more users to its platform.​

What Dream11 Learned From The Gaming Ban

The new Indian gaming law was a big shock for Dream11. But the company learned many important lessons from what happened. These lessons are now helping Dream11 as it goes to new countries.​

The first lesson was about how fast things can change. Dream11 was a very successful company worth 8 billion dollars. But in just 72 hours, the main business was gone. This taught the company to always have backup plans. Now Dream11 is not putting all its energy into one type of business.​

The second lesson was about following rules. Harsh Jain made it very clear that Dream11 will not fight the government. The company stopped all paid games even before the law was officially signed. Jain said that Dream11 has always been a company that follows the law. When the law changes, the company changes too.​

The third lesson was about building different types of businesses. Before the ban, Dream11 made 95% of its money from one source. This was very risky. Now Dream11 is working on many different things at the same time. The company has FanCode for sports content. It has DreamSetGo for sports travel experiences. It has Dream Game Studios for making games. It has Dream Money for helping people invest money.​

These different businesses give Dream11 many ways to make money. If one business faces problems, the other businesses can still work. This makes the whole company stronger and safer.​

The Free-To-Play Model Is Working

Dream11 moved to a free-to-play model in August 2025. Many people thought users would stop coming to the platform. But that did not happen. The number of daily active users actually stayed very high.​

Dream11 now has 10 million people playing every day without paying anything. These users are creating teams, joining contests, and competing with friends. They are doing all this just for fun and for prizes from sponsor brands.​

This shows something important about fantasy sports. People do not just play for money. They play because they love sports. They want to show their knowledge about players and teams. They want to compete with friends. They want to feel connected to the matches they watch.​

The free-to-play model also makes Dream11 available to more people. Before, some people could not afford to join paid contests. Now everyone can play for free. This is making Dream11 more popular in smaller towns and villages where people have less money to spend.​

Brands are happy with this new model too. They can now reach all 250 million Dream11 users. Before, they could only sponsor big contests that cost a lot of money. Now they can create contests of all sizes. They can target different types of users in different cities.​

Dream11 Has Other Businesses Too

Dream Sports is more than just Dream11. The company has built many different businesses over the years. These businesses are now becoming very important as Dream11 changes its model.​

FanCode is one of the biggest businesses under Dream Sports. This platform lets people watch sports matches live. They can also read news about sports, buy tickets for matches, and get detailed statistics about players and teams. FanCode has become popular with people who want to follow sports closely.​

DreamSetGo is another business that helps sports fans. This company plans trips for people who want to watch big sports events in other countries. For example, if someone wants to watch a cricket match in England or a football match in Spain, DreamSetGo can help plan the whole trip.​

Dream Game Studios makes mobile games. These are not fantasy sports games. They are regular games that people play for fun. This business helps Dream Sports reach people who like games but might not be interested in fantasy sports.​

Dream Sports recently started a new business called Dream Money. This app helps people invest in gold and fixed deposits. Users can start investing with just 10 rupees per day. They can also track how they spend money every day. This app opened in August 2025, right when the gaming ban started.​

All these businesses together make Dream Sports a complete sports and entertainment company. The company is not dependent on just one type of product. This gives Dream Sports many ways to grow in the future.​

Dream11 Used To Be Worth 8 Billion Dollars

Dream Sports was valued at 8 billion dollars in November 2021. This was when the company raised 840 million dollars from big investors around the world.​

The investors who gave money to Dream Sports included some very famous names. Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, RedBird Capital, and Tiger Global all led the investment. Other investors like TPG and Footpath Ventures also joined.​

This was one of the biggest investments ever made in a sports technology company anywhere in the world. It showed that people believed Dream Sports could become even bigger in the future.​

Just a few months earlier in March 2021, Dream Sports had raised 400 million dollars at a valuation of 5 billion dollars. So in just 8 months, the company’s value went from 5 billion to 8 billion dollars. This showed how fast Dream Sports was growing at that time.​

But all this was before the gaming ban. After the ban, Dream Sports lost 95% of its revenue. The company is now worth much less than 8 billion dollars. But Dream Sports still has enough money saved to run for the next few years. The company is using this time to build new businesses and try new things.​

The Gaming Law That Changed Everything

The law that changed everything for Dream11 is called the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. This law was passed very quickly in August 2025.​

The Union Cabinet approved the bill on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. The Lok Sabha passed it on Wednesday, August 20. The Rajya Sabha passed it on Thursday, August 21. The President signed it into law on Friday, August 22. And it came into force on October 1, 2025.​

This law says that all real money gaming is banned in India. It does not matter if the game needs skill or if it is based on luck. Any game where people pay money and can win money back is not allowed.​

But the law does allow some types of games. E-sports are still legal. These are games where people compete in video games like FIFA or Counter-Strike. Social games that do not involve money are also allowed. Educational games are fine too.​

What Happens To Dream11 Users Now

Dream11 users can still use the platform. But the experience is different now. Users do not need to pay money to join contests anymore. Everything is free.​

Users can still create fantasy teams just like before. They can pick 11 players from two real teams. They can choose a captain and vice-captain. They can join different types of contests.​

The main difference is in prizes. Before, users could win cash prizes if their team performed well. Now, users win prizes from brands. These might be discount coupons, free products, gift vouchers, or other rewards from companies like Swiggy, Tata Neu, or Astrotalk.​

Users can also use features like Flex to create their own private leagues with custom rules. This makes the game more personal and fun. Many users are creating leagues with friends and family members.​​

The Future For Dream11 In Global Markets

Dream11 is now starting fresh in 11 new countries. The company is using everything it learned in India to succeed in these markets.​

The free-to-play model might actually work better in some countries than paid contests would have. Many countries have strict laws about online gambling. By offering only free games, Dream11 can avoid legal problems.​

The next few years will show if Dream11 can succeed globally. The company is taking a big risk by going to 11 countries at once. But if it works, Dream11 could become one of the biggest fantasy sports platforms in the world.​