By Sampurna Majumder
Following Dream11’s withdrawal due to government’s restriction on real money, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited bids for the sponsorship of the Indian Cricket Team’s Championship. The Board has clearly banned the companies who are involved in bitcoin and money gambling by taking part in the bidding process. This was announced after Dream11’s recent closure of its real money games following the implementation of the ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online gaming act 2025.’
For several years, apps like Dream 11 and MyCircle have been a significant contributor to Indian Cricket by jointly providing approximately Rs 1000 crore through title sponsorship of both the national team and Indian Premiere League.
The BCCI has set clear guidelines for bidders in its press release. The Board has set the deadline September 12 as the IEOI purchase date and September 16 as the bud document submission online. This can be considered as a new revolution in Indian Gaming and hopefully positive changes are expected.
The BCCI further clarified that a bidder including of its group companies who is engaged in any type of activities which is prohibited under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 will not be permitted to submit a bid. The Board has also excluded companies dealing with tobacco, alcohol or any kind of activities which ‘offend public morals’ from the bidding process.
With this press release, several brand categories are blocked including athleisure and sportswear manufacturers, banking services, non-alcoholic cold beverages, safety locks and insurance. Current brands who are partners with BCCI under these categories are Adidas, Campa Cola, IDFC First Bank, and SBI life.
The BCCI also prohibited surrogate branding, saying, “Bidders are prohibited from submitting bids through surrogate brands. Surrogate branding refers to any attempt that indirectly submits a bid on behalf of a different person or entity through the use of a different person or entity.” Surrogate branding includes the usage of different names, identity or logos. Financial eligibility criteria requires bidders to have an average net worth of atleast 300 crore over the last three years.
Dream11 had previously secured the rights for Rs 358 crore for 2023-2026 but now is exiting early with approximately one year remaining.
A senior BCCI official told PTI that the situation of the sponsorship partner was fully understood by the board. It was clarified that no penalty would be levied on Dream11, as the matter was not considered their fault but a result of government regulations that must be complied with.
The official further noted that, under the current circumstances, the company’s business was bound to be affected.