There were rumours that the Indian cricket team would need new shirt sponsors after the new ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025’ that was recently passed by the Indian Parliament – and that has now been confirmed by the Indian cricket board.
The newly-introduced bill has banned real-money gaming platforms like Dream11, hitting their finances and leaving the future of the company in the lurch. And this has directly impacted their sponsorship deal with Team India.
“BCCI and Dream11 are discontinuing their relationship after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed. BCCI will ensure not to indulge with any such organisations ahead in future,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI.
It is a huge blow for the BCCI as front of shirt sponsorships are a huge source of revenue but it was inevitable this would happen as soon as it became clear that such apps would be banned.
Why Were Apps Like Dream11 Affected?
The reason the bill was first passed was to curb the menace of online gambling that masqueraded in the form of gaming, something which left many in financial issues and with gambling addictions.
While there was no legislation that forbade the existence of such games, calls for banning them had been growing louder especially since a number of young people were freely able to access these games with impunity.
It was also a form of legalised gambling, which it is worth noting is largely banned in India. Now, there is legislation in place to ensure that no such apps will continue to flourish.
What This Means For Asia Cup 2025
The BCCI is set to invite new bids for a front of shirt sponsor, but the board doesn’t have much time to get in a new India sponsor as the team’s next outing is the multi-nation Asia Cup 2025.
Should the board fail to secure a deal for a new sponsor, the Indian cricket team will play the tournament without a shirt sponsor.
The tournament gets underway on September 9, with India’s first match set to take place a day later on September 10 vs UAE.