Dream11 Dream11 offers monetisation strategy for emerging market fandom

Fantasy Premier League was first introduced in India via the English Premier League. However, it was niche and was played only by the urban, English-speaking viewers. Over the last decade, many additional sports began to use the Fantasy Leagues to engage with their fans.

In 2020, when VIVO dropped out as title sponsor, it presented a perfect opportunity for Dream11 to step in. In times when a digital-sports economy seems to be emerging, an internet brand like Dream11 has paved the path to its future growth. Dream11 also became the official fantasy league for the Indian Premiere League (IPL) in 2019, and it holds the license until 2023. Dream11 launched in the same year as the first edition of IPL, in 2008, and has catered to many Indian sports fans for international leagues, including NBA and some international cricket leagues. However, in the past five years its growth rate has accelerated dramatically, essentially growing from 0.3 million users in 2015 to over 800 million in 2020.

Monetisation works in the following way: for a given match, there are a variety of contests, out of which some are free and some are paid. For every contest entered, a fantasy team is created. The entry fee for a paid contest usually ranges between INR 30-60 ($0.4-0.8). The chance to win prizes from INR 200,000 ($2,600+) and above, drives paying the modest entry fees. Along with those stipulations, Dream11 lets 50% of the participant pool win prizes, with the largest share of the cash prize going to the top-ranked player and a smaller share going to lower ranked participants. Unlike the lottery, the odds of winning on Dream11 is 50%. Inherently, higher odds of winning means more participation from users. But there is also a catch, there is a minimum withdrawal amount of INR 200 (approximately $2.7). This is another clever strategy utilised by Dream11 to increase their customer return rate, as you will continue to play until your balance reaches INR 200. When a contest is over, not all the money pooled from entries are distributed. Dream11 keeps 15% of this amount as a “platform fee” and the rest is distributed as prize money.