South African technology investor Naspers is said to be investing USD 100 million in Indian fantasy sports platform, Dream11, at a 2.5 billion dollar valuation according to a report in local paper Mint. The new valuation is more than double the USD 1.1 billion it was valued at in April 2019 which had turned it then into a unicorn.
Naspers has recently invested in several high profile Indian startups like Swiggy, Meesho, and Byjus.
Dream11 games recreate the true on-field cricket experience in its virtual games where cricket fans can make their own teams and pit them against each other in matches. The company claims that 60 million sports lovers log on to their games every day.
During the recently concluded Cricket World Cup in June 2019, Dream 11 made a killing in earnings, as interest in the games was piqued then. Around 2 billion dollars worth of total transactions were conducted on Dream11 in the last quarter, which earned it USD 150 million in revenues.
Dream11 also offers games in kabaddi and football. It is the official fantasy game partner for the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The company’s value shot up last year after the Supreme Court of India in an order proclaimed that the Dream11 format of fantasy sports is skill-based and does not involve gambling and therefore is a legal business.
According to Registrar of Companies filings made by Dream11 in April 2019, Dream11 Fantasy Private Limited has been renamed as Sporta Technologies Private Limited as it plans to dabble in other sports-related businesses apart from fantasy gaming.
