Dream11 Shines On IPL Debut, Onboards 1.1 Mn New Users

As the much anticipated 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off on Friday (March 22), fantasy gaming unicorn Dream11 claimed to have onboarded 1.1 Mn new users on the first day of the tournament.

Cofounder and chief executive Harsh Jain took to X to announce the number of users. Besides new users, the fantasy sports platform also saw 15.01 Mn concurrent users as well.

The opening ceremony of IPL 2024 was held at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Friday evening. The IPL T20 Fantasy Leagues have also shot to fame in line with the emergence of this premier tournament for fantasy cricket enthusiasts.

“TATA IPL fantasy cricket is a virtual skill-based game meant for entertainment purposes only. However, if you utilise your knowledge of the game, you can enjoy several rewards and bask in the thrill of having your own TATA IPL 2023 Fantasy team! But, to taste sweet victory, you need to have some IPL fantasy tips up your sleeves,” Dream11’s website read.

In terms of sponsorship in IPL, Dream11 has partnered with eight teams this year: Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals.

It onboarded 5.5 Cr more users to its platform last year of which a major section falls in the 25-60 age group. Besides, at least 28% of the users hailed from the top 115 Indian Tier I and II cities. Notably, it also witnessed a 79% YoY growth in female users.

The company, founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008, earns revenue from fantasy gaming business and sale of goods. For fantasy sports business, the group recognises the platform fee received from users as revenue, also known as gross gaming revenue (GGR).

Amid the regulatory battle on taxation in the real money gaming sector, Dream11 had received a show cause notice of INR 28,294.19 Cr under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 in September 2023 from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Mumbai (DGGI).

The notice covers the period from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2023, stating that the company’s online Fantasy Sports, which covers betting, should be subjected to GST. So, instead of applying GST at the rate of 18% on the platform fees, the notice said that the tax should be levied at a higher rate of 28% on the entire contest entry amount.

The GST Council raised the tax imposed for real money games to 28% in July last year, which is now to be levied on gross revenue or total prize pool. The amended provision came into effect from October 1.

Dream11 posted a 32% surge in its net profit to INR 187.83 Cr in the financial year 2022-2023 (FY23) and saw a 66% jump in its operating revenue to INR 6,384.49 Cr in the year.

Meanwhile, the startup’s focus continues to be on the Indian market as there are enough opportunities and it has no plans to expand globally, Jain said at ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ in New Delhi.

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