BCCI’s sponsorship cursed? The growing brand casualty list ft. Dream11

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Being the official team sponsor of the Indian cricket team is corporate marketing’s crowning achievement. With stadiums packed and billions tuning in across broadcast and digital platforms, a sponsor’s logo on the players’ chest commands unparalleled visibility and brand recall. Yet since 2001, every company that has held this prized position has ended up mired in disputes—legal battles, regulatory crackdowns, or severe financial stress. The latest entrant, Dream11, now confronts its own existential crisis amid sweeping legislation against real-money gaming.

Dream11 assumed jersey-front billing in 2023 amid soaring valuations for India’s largest fantasy-gaming platform. Users assemble virtual teams of real players and wager money on their performances—a model that drove Dream11 to unicorn status. However, on August 21, 2025, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, which categorically bans real-money gaming apps. Once the President signs the Bill, Dream11’s core product will be outlawed nationwide.

This regulatory blow compounds earlier troubles. In early 2025, Dream11 received a tax demand of approximately Rs 1,200 crore for alleged GST evasion, though it successfully contested one notice. Fresh scrutiny by tax authorities remains imminent, casting doubt on the company’s ability to fund its multi-year sponsorship commitment through 2026. Without a legal workaround, Dream11 risks losing its primary revenue source and, by extension, its marquee placement on Team India’s jersey.

Sahara Group’s 12-year association with Team India remains the longest sponsorship tenure in BCCI history. At its peak, the brand became synonymous with Indian cricket, projecting financial might and mass-market appeal. But behind the glitz, Sahara was embroiled in what would become one of India’s most infamous corporate scandals.

Accused of raising nearly ₹24,000 crore through questionable investor schemes, the conglomerate spent years locked in bruising battles with market regulator SEBI. In 2014, founder Subrata Roy’s arrest for contempt of court symbolized the group’s dramatic downfall. What began as cricket’s most enduring partnership ended as a legal cautionary tale of ambition gone awry.

Also READ: Dream11 and other cricket fantasy apps suspend real-money gaming operations

When Star India replaced Sahara, the deal appeared seamless: a Disney-backed broadcaster owning cricket rights, commanding record viewership, and riding the digital streaming wave through Hotstar. But cracks soon appeared.

The Competition Commission of India initiated probes into alleged monopolistic practices, while Hotstar struggled to convert soaring traffic into sustainable profits amid mounting competition. By 2017, Star’s standalone identity was diluted through its merger with Jio, reducing the once-dominant media empire into just another cog in India’s consolidating telecom-broadcast juggernaut.

In 2017, Oppo burst onto the scene with a ₹1,079 crore sponsorship deal, signalling intent to dethrone Apple and Samsung in India’s fast-growing smartphone market. For a while, its name emblazoned on Team India’s jerseys gave it visibility across every living room in the country.

Yet, the halo faded quickly. Patent battles with Nokia and InterDigital consumed the company, while geopolitical tensions fuelled growing skepticism toward Chinese brands. By 2020, Oppo exited early, walking away from one of the most prized marketing platforms after failing to translate cricket buzz into durable market share.

If Sahara symbolized longevity and Oppo symbolized ambition, Byju’s epitomized India’s startup boom. In 2020, as the pandemic fueled online learning, the edtech giant took over the jersey sponsorship at the peak of its valuation — a staggering $22 billion.

But rapid global expansion concealed deep financial cracks. Mounting losses and payment defaults soon caught up. In 2022, insolvency petitions emerged, and in 2023, the BCCI dragged Byju’s to the National Company Law Tribunal over an unpaid ₹158 crore sponsorship fee. What was once a symbol of India’s new-age entrepreneurship ended in a dramatic descent into debt and retrenchment.

Dream11’s fantasy-sports platform revolutionized fan engagement when it took over sponsorship in 2023. Yet its core business—real-money gaming—now faces an existential threat from the 2025 Bill that bans paid-entry gaming apps outright. Already reeling from a Rs 1,200 crore GST demand and looming fresh tax probes, Dream11’s multi-year jersey deal may become an albatross rather than a billboard, as its central revenue stream risks being legislated out of existence.

Also READ: 3 reasons why the ban on betting apps like Dream11 is a correct move