The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) on February 12 announced a multiyear extension of its partnership with fantasy sports major Dream11 to bolster the sport's presence in India.
This partnership will see Dream11 continue as the official fantasy gaming partner of the NBA and WNBA in the country. NBA had first partnered with Dream11 for the 2017-18 basketball season and launched the league's first official fantasy game in India.
Through this tie-up, Indian consumers will be able to compete in a range of public and private NBA and WNBA-themed fantasy contests on Dream11 daily. They will get to build a virtual team of NBA or WNBA players and accumulate points based on the players’ real-life on-court performances. Users will be able to compete in both free and paid contests on the platform.
“With India being one of the fastest growing markets in the world for fantasy gaming, bolstering our presence in this space has been a key focus for us over the last few years,” said NBA India Country Head Rajah Chaudhry.
“We have seen a significant increase in fan engagement since the launch of our official fantasy game on Dream11, and as we embark on this continued journey together, we look forward to pushing the boundaries of innovation in fantasy gaming and providing fans with even more exciting ways to connect with the NBA and WNBA,” he said.
Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer, Dream11 said, "As we extend our collaboration with the NBA and WNBA, we’re committed to taking the excitement of basketball to new heights for our users. This association underscores our dedication to the sport while also highlighting the limitless possibilities in the realm of fantasy gaming."
Dream11 currently claims to have over 200 million users playing fantasy contests across various sports including cricket, football, kabaddi, basketball, hockey, and volleyball among others.
Dream Sports, the parent firm of fantasy sport major Dream11, saw its revenue from operations jump 66 percent to Rs 6,384.49 crore for the financial year 2023, from Rs 3,841 crore in FY22. Profit after tax grew by 32.4 percent to Rs 188 crore in FY23 from Rs 142 crore in FY22.
That said, concerns about the impact of an over Rs 28,000 crore show cause notice issued for alleged goods and services tax (GST) evasion and non-payment of 28 percent GST on the face value of bets has prompted the company's auditor to flag "a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on group's ability to continue as a going concern".
The Indian government also imposed a 28 percent GST regime on the country's real-money gaming sector, which became effective on October 1, 2023. The new tax rates are expected to hit the revenues and profitability of many companies in the sector.
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