The Indian government’s recently-imposed ban on real-money gaming through the Online Gaming Bill is set to be one of the most consequential economic decisions in cricket history. It is a policy that will affect all corners of the cricket ecosystem, from the biggest names in the sport to the up-and-coming cricket leagues scattered worldwide that were bankrolled by these gaming companies.
Dream11 withdrawing their sponsorship of India’s national team jersey is just the start when it comes to how there will be a vacant hole left in the cricket economy, with companies such as Dream11 and My11Circle as well as various other competitors having become central to the operations of cricket at the top level. This also includes deals with the IPL, which is the richest cricket tournament globally, and in particular as endorsers of some of the sport’s biggest stars under the umbrella of the BCCI.
A Cricbuzz report following the ban also revealed how some of India’s players would suffer monetarily with these companies expected to step away from cricket and make a pivot overseas. Fans might be familiar with ads run during cricket tournaments and the IPL that star their favourite players endorsing fantasy gaming websites, these advertorial and promotion pushes being worth so much that Indian cricketers are expected to collectively lose between 150-200 crore Indian rupees.
Prime amongst these will be the likes of Virat Kohli, who earns an annual 10-12 crore from his deal with MPL, as well as Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, who earn 6-7 crore from Dream 11 and Winzo respectively. However, these former Indian skippers will have their pick of endorsements to choose from: the younger players who earn up to 1 crore annually from these companies will be losing out on a substantial portion of their endorsement deals.
“For some other players, it effectively wipes out their entire endorsement income as these companies were the only brands on their roster,” explains the Cricbuzz report, also citing the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar, for whom this represents a loss of a third of their endorsements.
Smaller tournaments, advertising markets at risk
At a larger scale, this bill is also expected to have a major impact on entire leagues. The European Cricket Network has also suspended operations this week, with the organisation’s affiliate links with gaming companies in India being the investment required to keep them running. While the IPL won’t struggle too much to replace the reported 125 crore rupees lost annually in their deal with My11 Circle, the same cannot be guaranteed for leagues that depended on gaming companies as primary sponsors.
Lastly, beyond the realm of cricket, the online gaming ban will also make a dent in the world of advertising, with reports estimating that the market is set to take a hit with around 7-8% being carried by online gaming. This is a number to the tune of INR 8,000 to 10,000 crore a year, a whopping number that also holds 15-20% of the digital advertising market, as per Elara Capital vice-president Karan Taurani.
“Their brand value and income are bound to decline. While players endorse multiple products, the real money gaming segment contributed significantly to their endorsement revenue, which could drop by 20-25 percent,” said Taurani, predicting a big wave to come for some of the nation’s most popular celebrities.
