Yet for all its commercial momentum, the industry faces existential questions. A multi-bench Supreme Court hearing on the legal classification of fantasy sports — whether it constitutes a ‘game of skill’ or a ‘game of chance’ — has been repeatedly adjourned, with the latest hearing scheduled for April 2026. Simultaneously, the 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the full contest entry amount, imposed by the GST Council in 2023, continues to squeeze platform margins and fuel an intense lobbying battle between operators and the government.

IPL 2026: The Engine of Fantasy Sports Growth

The IPL remains the single most important driver of fantasy sports engagement in India. Cricket, with its statistical richness and long match durations, is an ideal sport for fantasy gameplay — and the IPL’s combination of star power, short-form excitement, and daily matches during the season creates a near-perfect environment for fantasy platforms to acquire and retain users.

For IPL 2026, Dream11 has reportedly increased its first prize to up to ₹1 crore for select mega-contests — a move designed to attract new users and generate viral social media moments. The platform, which was valued at USD 8 billion in its last funding round (November 2021), has also expanded its offerings beyond cricket to include football, kabaddi, basketball, and other sports, though cricket remains the dominant vertical.

Other major platforms including My11Circle (owned by Play Games24x7) and MPL (Mobile Premier League) are also running aggressive IPL campaigns. The competition for user attention during the IPL window is fierce, with combined marketing spending across fantasy platforms estimated to exceed ₹2,000 crore during the tournament — making them among the largest advertisers on Indian television and digital media.

The Supreme Court Battle: Skill vs. Chance

The legal status of fantasy sports in India has been a contentious issue for over a decade. Multiple High Courts have ruled that fantasy sports constitute a ‘game of skill’ — a classification that exempts them from gambling and betting laws that fall under state jurisdiction. However, several state governments have challenged these rulings, arguing that the chance element in sports outcomes means that fantasy contests are effectively a form of gambling.

The Supreme Court took up the matter in 2025, constituting a three-judge bench to hear arguments from both sides. The hearing, which was expected to deliver a landmark ruling, has been adjourned multiple times — most recently to April 2026. The postponements have created uncertainty for the industry, as a ruling classifying fantasy sports as a ‘game of chance’ could effectively shut down the paid contest model that generates the bulk of platform revenues.

Industry body the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), which counts Dream11 and other major platforms among its members, has argued that fantasy sports require research, analytical ability, and knowledge of player statistics — qualities that distinguish skill-based games from pure chance. The federation has pointed to rulings in the United States and other jurisdictions that have classified fantasy sports as skill-based.

The 28 Per Cent GST Conundrum

Adding to the industry’s regulatory challenges is the GST treatment of fantasy sports. In August 2023, the GST Council decided to levy 28 per cent GST on the full face value of contest entry amounts — the same rate applied to casinos and horse racing. Previously, fantasy platforms had been paying 18 per cent GST on their platform fees (the commission they earn), a significantly lower tax burden.

The impact has been substantial. According to industry estimates, the higher GST rate has reduced effective margins for fantasy platforms by 15 to 20 per cent, forcing several smaller operators to shut down or merge. Dream11, My11Circle, and MPL — backed by substantial venture capital — have absorbed the increased tax burden, but the long-term sustainability of the 28 per cent rate remains a subject of heated debate.

Fantasy sports operators argue that the 28 per cent full-face-value tax is disproportionate and fails to distinguish between the pool of user deposits and the platform’s revenue. The government’s position, articulated by the Finance Ministry and the GST Council, is that all online gaming involving wagering or staking should be taxed at the highest rate to ensure consistency and protect consumers.

The User Explosion: 250 Million and Counting

Despite the regulatory headwinds, the user base of Indian fantasy sports platforms has continued to grow at a remarkable pace. Dream11’s milestone of 250 million registered users, announced in March 2026, makes it one of the most widely adopted consumer applications in India — a list that also includes WhatsApp, YouTube, and Instagram.

The growth is driven by several structural factors. India’s cricket-obsessed population provides a natural audience for fantasy cricket. The proliferation of affordable smartphones and mobile internet (with 4G data costs among the lowest in the world) has removed access barriers. And the cultural normalisation of fantasy sports through IPL sponsorships and celebrity endorsements — Dream11 has featured Mahendra Singh Dhoni and other cricket stars in its advertising — has expanded the market beyond early adopters to mainstream consumers.

The IPL 2026 season is expected to push active daily users to new highs, with peak engagement typically occurring during high-profile fixtures involving teams like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

What Lies Ahead

The fantasy sports industry in India stands at a crossroads. The Supreme Court ruling, whenever it arrives, will have a defining impact on the sector’s future. A favourable ruling affirming the ‘game of skill’ classification would provide long-term legal certainty and could trigger a new wave of investment. An adverse ruling could force a fundamental restructuring of the industry.

On the GST front, industry lobbyists are pushing for a review of the 28 per cent rate at the next GST Council meeting, arguing that the tax should be levied only on platform revenue rather than on the full contest entry amount. The outcome of this lobbying effort will significantly impact the economics of fantasy sports and, by extension, the broader Indian gaming industry.

For the 250 million-plus users who have made fantasy sports a part of their cricket-watching ritual, the legal and regulatory battles may seem remote. But their resolution will determine whether India’s fantasy sports industry continues its trajectory towards becoming one of the world’s largest digital entertainment sectors — or whether it faces a regulatory reckoning that reshapes the landscape entirely.

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India’s fantasy sports industry has reached an unprecedented milestone. Dream11, the country’s largest fantasy sports platform, confirmed on 27 March 2026 that it has crossed 250 million registered users, making it one of the most widely adopted consumer apps in India after WhatsApp and YouTube. The announcement, timed to coincide with the opening week of IPL 2026, underlines the inseparable relationship between fantasy gaming and live cricket in the Indian market.

The platform processed over 18 million contest entries on the first day of IPL 2026 alone, a 35 per cent increase over the same fixture in 2025. Revenue per user has also climbed, driven by the introduction of micro-stakes contests starting at just Rs 5 and premium “Mega Contests” with guaranteed prize pools exceeding Rs 25 crore per match.

Market Size Projections: Rs 50,000 Crore by 2028

According to a new report by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and KPMG India, the fantasy sports market is projected to reach Rs 50,000 crore in gross merchandise value by 2028, up from an estimated Rs 34,000 crore in FY2026. The growth is fuelled by three converging factors: deepening smartphone penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, the legalisation and regulation of online skill gaming in multiple states, and the explosion of live sports content across OTT platforms.

“Fantasy sports has become India’s second screen for live sport,” said Harsh Jain, CEO and co-founder of Dream11. “Every boundary, every wicket, every goal matters personally to our users because they have skin in the game.” The trajectory mirrors India’s mobile gaming boom, where smartphone-first products have created billion-dollar categories in under a decade.

Competition Heats Up: My11Circle, MPL and New Entrants

While Dream11 commands an estimated 55 per cent market share, the competitive landscape is intensifying. My11Circle, backed by Games24x7, has crossed 70 million users and is aggressively targeting the south Indian market with Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language interfaces. Mobile Premier League (MPL), which briefly pivoted away from fantasy during the regulatory uncertainty of 2023, has re-entered with a football-focused product timed to the FIFA Club World Cup.

New entrants are also emerging from unexpected quarters. Reliance’s JioGames launched a fantasy cricket module in February 2026, leveraging its integration with JioStar’s live IPL streaming to offer real-time contest creation during ad breaks. Early reports suggest the JioGames fantasy module achieved 8 million downloads in its first month, a figure that took Dream11 over two years to reach at launch.

The Indian esports and competitive gaming ecosystem is also increasingly overlapping with fantasy sports, as platforms experiment with fantasy-style contests for competitive gaming tournaments.

Regulatory Landscape: GST Clarity and State-Level Frameworks

The regulatory environment for fantasy sports has stabilised considerably since the tumultuous GST debates of 2023-24. The 28 per cent GST on the full face value of contest entries, implemented in October 2023, initially dented operator margins. However, platforms have adapted by shifting to lower-entry-fee, higher-volume models that maintain user engagement while absorbing the tax burden.

At the state level, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have all passed dedicated online gaming legislation that explicitly classifies fantasy sports as games of skill, providing legal certainty that had been absent for years. Meghalaya became the latest state to regulate the sector in January 2026, introducing a licensing framework with a modest Rs 10 lakh annual fee for operators.

However, challenges persist in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where blanket bans on online gaming remain in force. Industry bodies including FIFS have filed constitutional challenges, arguing that the bans violate the fundamental right to trade under Article 19(1)(g). The Supreme Court is expected to hear these cases in the July session.

Beyond Cricket: Fantasy Football, Kabaddi and Formula 1

While cricket accounts for roughly 80 per cent of fantasy sports revenue in India, operators are actively diversifying into other sports. Fantasy football contests during the English Premier League and ISL seasons now attract over 12 million unique players, up 60 per cent year-on-year. Fantasy kabaddi has also found a niche audience, with Pro Kabaddi League updates driving seasonal spikes in user activity.

Perhaps the most surprising growth segment is Formula 1 fantasy, buoyed by Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries and the persistent rumours of an Indian Grand Prix returning in 2027. Dream11’s F1 module, launched in February, has already attracted 3.5 million entries, with users in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune over-indexing on participation.

Multi-sport users — those who play fantasy across three or more sports — now constitute 22 per cent of Dream11’s active user base, up from just 9 per cent in 2023. These users spend an average of 45 minutes per day on the platform, compared to 18 minutes for cricket-only users, making them highly attractive to advertisers.

Technology and Responsible Gaming

The leading platforms are investing heavily in technology to enhance the user experience and promote responsible gaming. Dream11 has deployed an AI-powered team recommendation engine that analyses over 200 data points per player — form, pitch conditions, head-to-head records, injury status — to help casual users build competitive teams. The feature has been credited with improving retention rates among first-time players by 40 per cent.

On the responsible gaming front, all FIFS member platforms now enforce monthly deposit limits, self-exclusion tools and mandatory cool-off periods after consecutive losses. Dream11’s in-app “budget tracker,” which alerts users when spending exceeds their self-set limits, has been activated by 35 million users since its launch in September 2025.

Data privacy is another area of focus. With latest AI developments in India enabling increasingly granular user profiling, fantasy platforms are investing in anonymisation techniques and on-device data processing to comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which comes into full effect in mid-2026.

The Road to Rs 50,000 Crore

The fantasy sports industry’s path to its Rs 50,000 crore target hinges on several factors. Continued IPL 2026 and cricket coverage growth will be the primary driver, but operators also need to crack the female user segment, which currently accounts for just 15 per cent of players. Industry initiatives such as women-only contests and ambassador partnerships with female athletes are early steps in that direction.

International expansion is another lever. Dream11 has soft-launched in the United States, targeting the Indian diaspora during IPL season, while My11Circle is testing the waters in the United Kingdom. Whether these markets can sustain engagement beyond the cricket season will determine whether Indian fantasy platforms can truly become global players.

For now, with IPL 2026 driving record contest entries and regulatory clarity improving across most states, the fantasy sports industry is enjoying what analysts call its “golden phase.” The question is no longer whether fantasy sports will become a mainstream entertainment category in India — it already is. The question is how big it can get.

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