New Delhi, August 2025 — The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has ended India’s fantasy gaming juggernaut overnight. What the bill’s supporters call a long overdue strike against “legalised gambling,” critics describe as the bursting of a bubble that thrived by fooling millions of fans.
Selling a Gamble as a “Game of Skill”
For years, platforms like Dream11, My11Circle, MPL, and RummyCircle masked themselves under the banner of “games of skill.” In reality, the structure was simple: lakhs of people put in money, and only a handful ever won big prizes.
The illusion of winning crores was created through constant advertising during cricket matches. The truth: 99% of users lost money repeatedly, while the platforms and promoters thrived on these small, constant losses.
Cricketers and Influencers: Paid to Play a Part, Not the Game
From MS Dhoni to regional influencers with 50,000 Instagram followers, fantasy apps recruited anyone with reach to chant the same line: “Apni team banao, jeeto crore.”
But behind the scenes, insiders admit:
Most stars never touched the apps. They were paid crores to pretend they were building teams. Mid-tier cricketers and influencers—desperate for visibility—became the face of gambling, pushing fans to spend on contests they themselves never played.
This created a massive trust gap: fans believed if their idol was “playing,” they too had a chance. The promotions were performance contracts, not real endorsements.
Cricket Fever or Gambling Fever?
During IPL and World Cups, fantasy ads took over 70–90% of airtime. Every six, wicket, or catch was tied to someone’s “fantasy team.”
What was billed as cricket fever was in fact gambling fever wrapped in cricket colours. Viewership intensity was inflated by the thought of winning money, not just love for the sport.
The End of Easy Money for Promoters
Cricketers: For many outside the superstar circle, fantasy deals were their first big endorsements. Now, that lifeline is gone. Influencers: Meme pages, YouTubers, and Instagram creators were fed by fantasy budgets, which often made up 20–30% of their income. That stream dries up overnight. Broadcasters: Star Sports and JioCinema face a ₹2,000 crore vacuum in ad revenues, as nearly every second ad slot had been sold to a gaming platform.
A ₹5,000 Crore Illusion
Industry filings show fantasy apps spent ₹5,000 crore+ annually on advertising and promotions. Dream11 alone burned through ₹2,964 crore in FY23, much of it on ads where celebrities looked straight into the camera and urged fans to “make your team.”
But this was always an illusion economy: the money spent to acquire users was fueled by the very losses those users incurred inside the apps.
Back to Pure Cricket?
Supporters of the ban argue this is a reset for Indian cricket. Jerseys without gambling logos, broadcasts without fantasy slogans, and fans watching for the sport — not because they lost money yesterday and hope to win today.
Critics warn of job losses and sponsorship voids, but few deny the moral clarity the Act introduces: India’s most popular sport should not be used to funnel millions into apps where almost everyone loses.
Bottom Line
The era of “Apni team banao, jeeto crore” was never about sport — it was about selling hope while quietly draining wallets. With the Online Gaming Act in place, the masks are off: those who promoted it rarely played it, and those who played it rarely won.