Online fantasy sports platform Dream11 on October 19 reached the milestone of 200 million registered users. Harsh Jain, CEO of parent company Dream Sports, posted a video on X celebrating the achievement.
200 MILLION users on @Dream11!
Thank you INDIA 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳#Loveyou200000000 #200000000notout#CantStopWontStop pic.twitter.com/KnCorc4OZe— Harsh Jain (@harshjain85) October 19, 2023
This is the first time a fantasy gaming platform has reached this many registered users. There is currently no 200 million celebration offer but the official Dream11 X account has assured that the team is working to bring some to players.
The milestone comes amidst the recent GST changes that have been implemented, starting October 1. Despite the government now charging 28% GST on full face value, the user count for Dream11 seems unaffected.
One of the biggest reasons for player retention even after the GST changes can be attributed to its new reward point system introduced just ahead of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. As per an official post, the reward points act like the equivalent of in-app currency which can be used to enter tournaments.
Player are rewarded with the same amount of points that they were charged as GST in order to provide them the entire wallet balance. All the expenses are borne by the company as gratitude to its users.
Meanwhile, Dream11 acquired Sixer, a fantasy stock trading platform, recently. It seems that the company is still planning to expand further on the real money gaming front.
The increased GST is, however, not the only concern as the company was also handed a Rs 28,000 crore GST notice by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) recently along with many other online gaming firms.
The companies, however, believe that the tax notices are highly contestable as they are retrospective and can be challenged in the courts.