Cricketers to see a hole in pockets after new gaming bill as ripple effects will be felt by all stakeholders.
Cricket, cricketers and real money gaming bill.
Dream11’s departure as the Indian team’s jersey sponsor is only one piece of a vast ecosystem that is dominated by the fantasy gaming corporation. Although the BCCI, which has historically been a glue to the corporates and marketers, will probably recover quickly—it might even bring on a sponsor by the time the Asia Cup begins in two weeks—the business will be affected by the government’s decision to outlaw real money gaming. by the cricket players as well.
Cricket players will be among those most impacted by the government’s most recent decision, while gaming businesses have been among the largest spenders on sponsorships and advertising. Nearly all Indian cricket players with IPL contracts who are viewed on television have partnerships with real-money gambling companies. They were linked to almost every player, from Rahul Chahar to Virat Kohli, and those sponsorship arrangements will no longer be available.
While Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, and even Sourav Ganguly supported My11 Circle, the other significant player in the real-money gaming market, Dream11 had contracts with players like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and the Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal.
Virat Kohli was associated with MPL, while MS Dhoni endorsed Winzo – both gaming firms that now stand to lose their marquee deals.
Each player had a different brand endorsement value. For example, Kohli’s contract was projected to be worth between INR 10 and 12 crore a year, while Rohit Sharma and Dhoni were thought to be in the INR 6-7 crore range. The numbers for less well-known or younger players were about INR 1 crore. Since the most recent rule forbids “advertising and promotion of money games across all forms of media,” Indian cricket players as a whole stand to lose between INR 150 and 200 crore annually as a result of these terminated contracts.
Only roughly 5–10% of the top players’ total endorsement revenue may come from these deals. The impact, however, would be far higher for some—between 50 and even 100 percent. Consider Mohammed Siraj. He was connected to three brands till recently.
Therefore, like Washington Sundar, who also has three brand endorsements, the loss of My11 Circle results in a 33 percent reduction in his endorsement income. Dream11 was connected to Sundar. Since these businesses were the only brands on their roster, it essentially eliminates all of the endorsement revenue for some other players.
“This was the amount being spent on cricket and cricketers. Now, I think endorsements for cricketers will take a hit. 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. Broadly, that translates to about INR 8,000-10,000 crore,” the industry expert thinks.