Dream11 was co-founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2008. In 2012, they introduced freemium fantasy sports in India for cricket fans. In 2014, the company reported 1 million registered users, which grew to 2 million in 2016 and to 45 million in 2018. It is a member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and is the founding member of the . Dream11 is a Series D funded company with Tencent leading the latest round. In April 2019, Steadview Capital completed secondary investment in Dream11. Apart from Steadview, Dream11’s investors included Kalaari Capital, Think Investments, Multiples Equity and Tencent. In June 2018, Dream11 reported that it has 4 million users, up from 2 million users in 2017. The company also made to the list and ranked 9 among India's Great Mid-Size Workplaces - 2018. Dream11 was also recognised as one of the top 10 innovative companies in India by Fast Company in 2019.
Legality
In 2017, a case was registered against the company in an Indian High Court. The court, in its ruling, stated that playing the Dream11 game involves superior knowledge, judgement and attention. The Court also held that ‘the element of skill’ had a predominant influence on the outcome of the Dream11 game. However, the law does not allow Fantasy Sports in few Indian States like Assam, Odisha and Telangana. A challenge to this judgement was filed with the Supreme Court of India, which dismissed the appeal. The judgement provided legality to the company and allowed them to run their operations throughout the country. Despite it being adjudged to be a "game of skill", experts believe that the company operates in the country's regulatory "grey area".
Dream11 provides a fantasy gaming platform for multiple sports such as cricket, football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, and baseball,handball.It is an online game where users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points based on the performances of these players in real matches. A user who scores the maximum points in their joined contests attains the first rank on the leader-board. Dream11 offers free and paid contests. A user has to pay a certain fee to join a contest and can win real cash. To participate in a Dream11 game, a user must be at least 18 years old and needs to get their profile verified using their PAN.
Dream11 Foundation
Dream11 Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dream11 that aims to help people in their time of needs. Recently, Dream11 Foundation pledged Rs.3 crores over a period of 3 years to support IFSG’s athlete support programme, Stars of Tomorrow. This programme has been created with an aim to identify and support India’s future sporting talent. As a result of a selection process led by GoSports, out of the 168 entries received from across the country, 13 athletes have been selected to be part of IFSG’s Stars of Tomorrow. Athletes selected under the programme will be offered support to help them reach their sporting goals.
