Dream Sports, the parent company of fantasy sports major Dream11, has forayed into the casual real-money gaming segment with a new product, Dream Play, Moneycontrol has learnt.
The move comes as the Mumbai-based startup looks to expand its real-money gaming offerings beyond fantasy sports.
Dream Play allows users to compete in multiplayer contests across a variety of skill-based sports games in exchange for cash rewards. The platform currently offers Carrom, with Pool and additional titles expected soon.
In Carrom, players can choose to go head-to-head in Classic or Freestyle game modes, or participate in larger Mega Contests, where the highest scorer in a timed match takes the prize.
Dream Sports’ latest product puts it in direct competition with the likes of Mobile Premier League (MPL), WinZO, and Zupee, all known for their real-money casual gaming offerings. Games24x7 also launched an online Ludo app Wowzy last year. To be sure, MPL, Games24x7, and WinZO also operate fantasy sports platforms. Dream Sports declined to comment on this development.
GST woes
This move comes even as India's real-money gaming (RMG) sector is navigating through a turbulent period due to lack of regulatory clarity and the impact of the 28 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Dream11 and other gaming platforms are still absorbing the additional tax burden without passing it on to the players, in a bid to avoid the potential user churn.
Gaming founders and industry executives had earlier told Moneycontrol that casual real-money gaming formats were the worst hit by the GST taxation change, as each game or tournament has a smaller number of participants, and people tend to play fewer games on average before dropping out or withdrawing their money, as compared to other formats like card games. That said, formats like mega contests, which will have several participants, could help address some of these challenges.
Adding to the sector’s woes, Indian authorities have also served retrospective tax notices to a slew of skill-based gaming firms including Dream Sports for alleged tax evasion to the tune of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The Supreme Court granted a stay on these notices on January 10, following over 50 petitions filed by RMG companies. The apex court is still hearing arguments in the matter.
For the financial year FY23, Dream Sports saw its revenue from operations jump 66 percent to Rs 6,384.49 crore, up from Rs 3,841 crore in FY22. The company has yet to file its financials for FY24, however, sources earlier told Moneycontrol that the firm is expected to witness a revenue drop of 40–50 percent in the current financial year, while operating profit may decline by about 80 percent.
Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at $8 billion when it bagged a $840 million funding round led by Falcon Edge, DST Global, D1 Capital, Redbird Capital, Tiger Global, TPG and Footpath Ventures in November 2021.
Apart from Dream11, the company houses brands such as sports content and commerce platform FanCode, sports experiences platform DreamSetGo, mobile game development unit Dream Game Studios, and its philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
In recent months, Dream Sports has introduced CRIQ, an AI-powered cricket companion app, along with Dream Picks, a quicker and simpler fantasy sports app that lets users build four-player teams and compete across both innings.
The company also recently shifted its domicile from Delaware, United States to India, joining the ranks of several top Indian startups moving their base back to the home country, often referred to as 'reverse flipping', amid favourable economic policies and compliance requirements.
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