Fantasy sports platform Dream11 is preparing to enter the stock-broking and wealth management space with a new arm called Dream Money, marking its pivot from gaming to financial services.
According to a report by Mint, the company has applied to enter the stock broking arena and build Dream Money as a discount brokerage platform, competing with existing players such as Zerodha, Angel One and Groww. The move comes months after the introduction of the government’s Online Gaming Bill, which imposed strict restrictions on real-money and betting-style games, severely impacting Dream11’s core business model.
Revenue plunge forces diversification push
Backed by Tencent and Tiger Global, Dream11 had to suspend its real-money gaming operations earlier this year, resulting in a 95% decline in revenue. The company has since transitioned to a free-to-play, ad-supported model but continues to explore new revenue streams.
“The only way to deal with 95% of your revenue being gone is to build new products,” Dream11 co-founder and CEO Harsh Jain recently said, referring to the company’s ongoing diversification plans.
Leveraging a 260-million user base for financial services
The upcoming platform aims to leverage Dream11’s 260 million-strong user base to expand into India’s growing retail investment market. Industry executives cited in the report said the company sees stock broking as a “natural adjacency” to its existing digital ecosystem.
India’s retail participation in capital markets has surged over the past three years, helped by easier onboarding and zero-commission trading apps. However, according to the report, market penetration remains low, with only one in 12 Indians registered as investors on the National Stock Exchange, leaving significant headroom for new entrants.