IPL likely to feel the pinch from real money gaming ban

Media rights for IPL and other sports properties, pegged at ₹9,678 crore for this year, may also face pressure since fantasy sports platforms have been among the highest spenders in digital advertising for sports advertising
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VIJAY SONEJI

The government’s call to ban real money gaming (RMG) companies may cost the Indian Premier League (IPL) around 40 per cent of its ad revenue, according to advertising agencies’ estimates.

Sources in the know told businessline that officials are concerned about the effect of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill since two major RMG companies, Dream11 and My11Circle, are important sponsors for the IPL.

“Fantasy sports sponsors contributed approximately ₹2,000 crore or around 40 per cent of IPL’s total ad revenue in 2025. They may create a substantial vacuum with their expected exit,” said Russhabh R Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Frodoh.

Media rights for IPL and other sports properties, pegged at ₹9,678 crore for this year, may also face similar pressures since fantasy sports platforms have been among the highest spenders in digital advertising for sports advertising. Overall, their digital ad spend across sports and other categories were estimated by Frodoh at ₹3,000 crore to ₹4,500 crore annually. Including the broader advertising ecosystem, such as TV, print and outdoor media, the potential impact could reach ₹7,000 crore, signalling a possible sector-wide slowdown.

Siddharth Jhawar, Country Manager, Moloco India, said the Bill will particularly impact three sets of parties: people who have IPL broadcasting rights such as JioHotstar, digital advertising platforms such as Google and Meta that make a sizable amount of money during IPL and offline sponsors.

“The ban on online gaming will shrink the advertising industry by 10-15 per cent. It will also slow down future growth, considering this was one of the fastest-growing segments in advertising,” he said.

However, Ajimon Francis, Managing Director at Brand Finance India, dismissed these concerns at least in the case of the IPL, stating that such churn among sponsors has happened in the past.

‘No setback’

“I don’t think this will affect IPL from a valuation perspective because similar incidents have happened in the last 3-4 years with crypto players. They put in a lot of money before they got heavily taxed and went silent. Now the RMG is getting restricted,” said Francis.

In essence, the Bill is expected to trigger an industry-wide pause, with an initial contraction in spending, but followed by an adaptive phase for brands, broadcasters, talent and media houses, in the light of a changing regulatory environment.

Published on August 21, 2025