Dream11 pivots hard post-RMG ban, launches dedicated watchalong service

Mumbai: With a major part of the business impacted by the government's ban on Real Money Gaming, Dream11 on Thursday announced sports entertainment to be its next bet.

The top management also said that none of its 1,200 employees has been laid off as a result of the ban on real money gaming.

"We are moving away from the gaming piece altogether. We are pivoting hard," the company's co-founder and chief executive, Harsh Jain, told reporters.

It is launching a service which lets users 'watch along' a sporting event with someone seated elsewhere and makes sport-watching less lonely.

"People want to scream, shout or banter while watching a fixture. The problem we are focusing on is the loneliness of watching a match alone," he said, adding that Dream11 will be the second screen which a user will sit with.

As a concept, the watchalong service exists on YouTube but this is the first time a dedicated platform for such engagement is being launched in India.

Globally, there are platforms like Twitch offering such engagement for sports viewing, he said, pointing out that it is a USD 10 billion opportunity with 1 billion potential users internationally.

Jain said the new business will primarily depend on advertising and also in-app purchases to be done through pre-bought virtual coins.

Marketing spends will be negligible, he said, adding that efforts will be made to draw as many of the 250 million users already registered on Dream11 to try and taste the new offering.

Over 20 million users are still active in fantasy gaming, even with the money element being taken off, Jain said.

The company is not facing any pressure from its investors, Jain said, replying to a query on whether the pressure to exit may lead to any changes.

It is sufficiently capitalised for now and does not see any need for money for the next few years, Jain said.

Creating the new platform has not been capital expenditure intensive and the company has deployed its existing workforce to create the platform.

The new business will only require 200 employees, he said, adding that the remaining ones have been distributed across eight separate verticals, including Horizon, Fancode, Dream Sports AI and Dream Set Go.

Jain said each of the eight units is working like a startup and may be in the seed funding to Series A stage.

Initially, it will be signing up with influencers or creators, Jain said, adding that over two-thirds of the revenue will be shared with them as per the global norms.

He said the company will initially start with cricket and add more sports gradually. It will be watching the retention figures very closely, and the next six months will be crucial for the business.