India’s leading fantasy sports platform Dream11’s parent Dream Sports posted a 32% increase in net profit and a 66.2% surge in operating revenue for fiscal 2023, regulatory filings accessed by Tofler show.
Dream Sports declared Rs 6,384 crores as its revenue from operations, as compared to Rs 3,840 crores in FY’22. In the same period, the company’s net income grew from Rs 141 crores to Rs 188 crores, registering a 32.6% growth. It bears noting that Dream Sports is facing a tax demand of over Rs 28,000 crore from the GST authorities.
The company’s auditor, EY affiliate SR Batliboi & Co, noted in Dream11’s financial statements that the demand over past dues “may cast significant doubt on (the) group’s ability to continue as a going concern”, Economic Times reports.
The platform fees received from the users for participating in the contests on offer at Dream11, also known as Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), was the sole source of revenue for the fantasy gaming platform in FY23. This stood at Rs 6,191 crores in FY’23, as compared to Rs 3,801 crores in FY’22.
Having been a key sponsor of the Indian Premier League in the past, Dream11 has spent considerably on the promotional front. Its consolidated report, sourced from Tofler, stated that its overall advertising promotional expenses increased from Rs 2,158 crores in FY ’22 to Rs 2,964 crores in FY’23, posting a 37.3% growth in ad spends.
Per e4m, the fantasy gaming platform rolled out campaigns featuring MS Dhoni, Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and more known names from the industry last year.
The gaming unicorn’s expenditure towards employee benefit expenses surged to Rs 1,154 crore in FY’23 from Rs 497 crore in the previous fiscal year. The start-up spent Rs 452 crore for salaries and wages, whereas its other employee-related expenses stood at Rs 629 crore in FY’23, the Tofler report further notes.
