IPL 2026 opens on March 26 carrying a media rights valuation of $13.4 million per match — the most expensive cricket on the planet.
When India’s President signed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROG Act) in August 2025, the IPL lost overnight a sponsor category that had funded nearly 40% of its broadcast advertising revenue.
The Law that Changed Everything – PROG Act 2025
The Indian Parliament passed the Online Gaming Act in August 2025, and President Droupadi Murmu signed it into law shortly after. This legislation bans any platform from offering, facilitating, or advertising games involving real money. That includes sports and fantasy betting.
Repeat offenders can face up to five years in prison and fines of ₹2 crore. Also, to make the ban even stronger, banks are now barred from processing any payments related to gambling.
Even celebrities are banned from endorsing them. Dream Sports CEO Harsh Jain summed up the situation by saying, “The entire industry was caught off guard… By Friday, the president had signed it into law. It was a complete shock.”
How Big Was the Fantasy Cricket Money Machine?
Before the ban, fantasy platforms were a massive part of the cricket economy. They contributed up to 40% of all IPL broadcast ad revenues, according to Elara Capital.
Dream11 alone held a ₹358 crore deal to sponsor the jerseys for the men’s, women’s, and U-19 national teams. My11Circle also had a major presence with IPL fantasy rights worth ₹625 crore over five years.
Across the entire sector, these companies spent roughly ₹4,500 crore every year on sports marketing. Overall, the industry was worth $3.7 billion in 2024 and was expected to reach $9.1 billion by 2029.
The Immediate Fallout
The impact of the ban was felt instantly when Dream11 terminated all its sponsorship deals. This left the BCCI pressured to find a new partner, but eventually, after months of scrambling, Apollo Tyres stepped in as the national jersey sponsor.
That became official on September 16, 2025. The agreement is a two-and-a-half-year contract that runs until March 2028, and the total deal is worth ₹579 crore.
Now, individual players also felt the hit as high-profile endorsements were voided immediately. Legends like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma saw their lucrative contracts with gaming platforms disappear.
IPL 2026 Sponsors – Before vs After
2025 — Fantasy Brands Dominated
| Franchise | Sponsor |
| SRH | Dream11 (jersey) |
| KKR | Dream11 (jersey) |
| Gujarat Titans | Dream11 (jersey) |
| Punjab Kings | Dream11 (jersey) |
| Delhi Capitals | Dream11 (jersey) |
| BCCI (Team India) | Dream11 — ₹358 cr deal |
2026 — The Scramble for Replacements
| Franchise | Status |
| SRH | No jersey sponsor; Jio + BKT Tyres as principals. |
| KKR | Jersey Sponsor – Vida; Merchandise Partner Lux Cozi. |
| LSG | No jersey sponsor confirmed yet. |
| GT | Birla Estates — (Principal Sponsor) |
| RCB | Nothing (mobile brand) replaces Qatar Airways |
| BCCI centrally | Google Gemini (₹270 cr, 3 yrs) + Apollo Tyres (Jerseys) + Tata Group |
New sponsors like tyres, real estate, and AI platforms offer visibility, but there’s no denying that they just can’t replicate the fan engagement of fantasy brands. In addition, there are still franchises without official jersey sponsors.
The Broadcast Revenue Ripple
Fantasy platforms were among the most aggressive buyers of advertising time on JioStar. However, EY India estimates an 8–10% annualized drop in total ad spend following the ban.
The ban has also accelerated a change in fan behavior—with many cricket followers migrating to IPL betting apps hosted on offshore platforms.
Also, it’s expected that when the BCCI renegotiates media rights in 2027, broadcasters may not bid at the same premium. This is a significant long-tail consequence of the legislation. Santosh N from D&P Advisory noted that because broadcasters can no longer afford to pay as much, the BCCI could very well see a lower renewal premium in 2027.
Smaller Leagues Face an Existential Threat
This is where the real damage is felt long-term. While the IPL can attract giants like Google and Tata, smaller leagues cannot. Vision11 lost its PKL rights, and the European T20 Premier League was postponed to 2026 after losing Indian gaming funds.
Sports lawyer Vidushpat Singhania noted that while Indian cricket will always find sponsors, the personal sponsorship market and smaller properties will likely shrink.
Player Endorsements — The Silent Losers
Players are also hit by this change. Virat Kohli’s partnership with MPL, once worth over $1 million, is now void.
But while stars like Smriti Mandhana ( endorses brands like Gulf Oil, Hyundai) – remain commercially stable, younger domestic players who relied on fantasy apps have lost their primary revenue.
What Comes Next
Incoming sponsors like Google Gemini, Apollo Tyres, Nothing, Birla Estates, and Hero Fincorp are filling the gap. However, while the tyre brand deal is still good for the IPL, it just doesn’t drive match viewership or subscriptions like fantasy gaming could.
That said, the BCCI’s long-term challenge is building a new engagement flywheel that doesn’t depend on a single sector. To replace the lost co-dependency, analysts suggest the league is exploring AR/VR fan experiences, digital collectibles, and global tech partnerships.
Conclusion – A Reset, Not a Collapse
While fantasy sports is now missing in action at the IPL, the commercial reset is already underway – AI platforms, tyre giants, and tech brands are queuing up to fill the void. Apollo Tyres’ ₹579 crore bid – higher than Dream11’s ₹358 crore deal – and Google Gemini’s ₹270 crore commitment confirm that sponsor appetite for Indian cricket remains strong.
What can really struggle are the domestic leagues and women’s circuits. These smaller tournaments quietly depended on fantasy money and now face a far harder commercial road ahead.
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