India’s leading fantasy gaming platform Dream11 has reportedly bagged the title sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League. 

According to Outlook India, Dream11 outbid other companies with a bid of INR 250 crores. They will replace the outgoing Chinese tech company Vivo.

Other brands in the fray were educational platforms Byju’s and Unacademy, and the Tata Group. 

Dream11 outdid Unacademy’s bid of INR 210 crores while Tata and Byju’s were ready to spend INR 180 crores and INR 125 crores, respectively, for the title rights of the world’s most popular T20 league.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited fresh bids after Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo pulled out of the deal amid the growing resentment for Chinese products in India. 

Vivo had acquired the title rights for INR 2,190 crores for a five-year period, amounting to 438 crores per season.

With mutual consent, Vivo and BCCI decided to suspend the deal for IPL 2020 and recommence in the next season.

However, as per select media, the Dream11 partnership could extend till the 2022 season should Vivo decide not to return.

As per the BCCI’s invite, the bidder should have a minimum turnover of INR 300 crore in the last fiscal year.

Dream11, which is also the fantasy gaming partner of the BCCI and IPL, trebled its revenue to INR 800 crores in the financial year 2019 from 230 crores in the previous financial year, according to Tracxn.

In April 2019, Dream11 became the first Indian gaming company to be valued at more than USD 1 billion dollars. Currently valued at over USD 2 billion, it leads other Indian fantasy platforms by a wide margin.

The 13th season of the Indian Premier League is scheduled to begin on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The first match to be played will be between defending champions Mumbai Indians and three-time title winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK). All the matches will be played at three venues in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.