Dream11 sees over 100 employee exits after real-money gaming ban
What's the story
Dream Sports, the parent company of popular sports entertainment platform Dream11, has seen a major employee exodus. Over 100 employees have left the firm since a recent restructuring was announced after India's real-money gaming (RMG) ban in August 2025. The move comes as part of a larger strategy to cope with the challenges posed by new government regulations on online gaming.
Corporate changes
Dream Sports divided into 8 'start-ups'
In December, Moneycontrol reported that Dream Sports had divided itself into eight 'start-ups,' each with its own leadership. The change came after the government's online gaming law disrupted the company's core fantasy sports business model, wiping out 95% of its revenue and all profits. At the time, CEO Harsh Jain said a major chunk of Dream11's 1,000-strong workforce had been redistributed across these start-ups.
Workforce shift
Current attrition slightly higher than pre-ban rate
Dream Sports said that around 700 employees were placed into these start-ups based on their experience and affinity in those domains. Around 15% of them chose to leave for other scaled-up companies or start their own ventures. "Since some of these employees were experienced with specifically running and growing high scale businesses, and not start-ups," a company spokesperson said, adding that the current attrition is slightly higher than the pre-ban rate of 10%.
Strategic shifts
Reverse flipping and IPO plans
Dream Sports had moved its domicile from Delaware, US to India in March, a move often described as 'reverse flipping.' This was seen as a sign that the Mumbai-based company was preparing for a possible initial public offering (IPO). However, after the real-money gaming ban, the sports technology giant returned to 'start-up mode.' In December, Jain announced that all bonus lock-ins timelines for employees who joined in recent years were removed.
Employee retention
Dream Sports moves headquarters to Worli
Dream Sports currently has close to 950 people in its corporate teams. The company said "a 'few people in its corporate Dream Sports teams like Talent Acquisition team were not able to continue in their newly organized start-up reorganization.'" Despite the recent changes, Dream Sports remains focused on retaining its talent. The firm has also moved its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Worli as part of cost-saving measures.
Business overview
Breakdown of business units
Dream Sports operates several business units including sports content platform FanCode, sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, cricket game Dream Cricket, and AI initiative Dream Sports AI. Other units include wealth management unit Dream Money, AI software solutions unit Dream Horizon, and philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation. For FY25, the company's revenue from operations was ₹6,759 crore, a 15% decline from ₹7,934 crore in FY24.