Fantasy app ban could make Indian cricketers lose ₹150–200 crore a year

The new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill has become a big topic in cricket over the past few days. Because of this, Dream11 will no longer be the sponsor of the Indian cricket team. The BCCI is already looking for new sponsors and may even have one in place before the Asia Cup 2025 begins, so the board won’t be hit much by the ban. But according to a Cricbuzz report, the players themselves might end up feeling the impact.

Fantasy App Ban Could Cost Indian Cricketers Hundreds of Crores in Brand Deals

It is no secret that Indian cricketers have long been associated with these fantasy platforms, and now a ban in place could hamper their brand earnings significantly. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik & Krunal Pandya, all endorsed Dream11. On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj, Test skipper Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal endorsed My11 Circle.

Virat Kohli was linked with MPL, while MS Dhoni had a deal with Winzo. With the new rules in place, these partnerships are likely to end. Kohli, who earns around ₹175–200 crore every year from brand endorsements, could see a loss of about ₹10–12 crore if MPL pulls out.

For Rohit Sharma, his yearly endorsement income is believed to be around ₹50–60 crore, and he might lose nearly ₹6–7 crore because of this change. For Dhoni, each brand deal is usually in the range of ₹4–6 crore, so he too is expected to face losses similar to Rohit. According to a Cricbuzz report, Indian players together could lose around ₹150–200 crore every year because of this.

Cricketers May Lose 20-25% of Endorsement Income

The bigger issue for most cricketers, apart from the top stars, is that a large part of their endorsement income comes from fantasy gaming platforms. Losing those deals could hit them much harder.

“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,” said Karan Taurani.

“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,” he added.

Fantasy App Ban Hits Players, IPL, and Ad Industry Hard

For some players, brand deals from fantasy gaming apps made up almost all of their endorsement income. Take Siraj for example, he had just three brand partnerships, and losing My11 Circle has instantly cut out about one-third of that. Washington Sundar is facing the same situation.

It’s not just the players who will feel the pinch. The IPL too could take a big hit. My11 Circle was an associate sponsor, paying the BCCI ₹125 crore, with three years still left on their five-year deal. Teams like KKR, LSG and SRH stand to lose anywhere between ₹10–20 crore each year. But the biggest blow may be to the advertising industry itself, which could see losses in the range of ₹8,000–10,000 crore annually.
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