The newly enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has shaken India's thriving fantasy gaming sector and its affinity with cricket to its core. The far-reaching law prohibits real-money games, including fantasy sport, and their promotions, plunging cricket's financial ecosystem into a severe setback. Fantasy Firms Withdraw, BCCI Left Reeling Fantasy sport giants such as Dream11, MPL, My11Circle, Zupee, and others have suspended cash contests, with Dream11 canceling its ₹358 crore jersey sponsorship deal with BCCI. This sudden pullout leaves the board scrambling to come up with a new sponsor before the Asia Cup. These companies were some of the biggest spenders on cricket advertising, with advertisement expenditure running in the thousands of crores per annum. Industry experts note that the ban could cut the overall advertising ecosystem by INR 8,000-10,000 crore. Karan Taurani of Elara Capital points out that fantasy businesses represented about 7-8% of all advertisement expenditure and as much as 20% of digital advertisement expenditure, which could now be gone. Also Read | Online Gaming Bill 2025: Ban on Real Money Gaming in India Cricketers Take Huge Knock on Endorsements Star players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul had serious sponsorships with gaming companies. For example, the deal of Kohli was valued at INR 10-12 crore per year, while Sharma and Dhoni received INR 6–7 crore. While such transactions accounted for merely 5-10% of the earnings of established celebrities, they represented lifelines for smaller or younger players, while some risked losing 50-100% of their endorsement income. Mohammed Siraj, for instance, lost one-third of his endorsements with My11Circle eliminated; Washington Sundar essentially lost his entire endorsement library. Greater Shocker: Media, Employment, Sponsorship Crisis The impact goes beyond the contracts of individual teams or players. My11Circle's associate sponsorship of the IPL contributed ₹125 crore annually to BCCI coffers; their departure and those of the other teams' gaming sponsors, who received ₹10-20 crore each, will tighten team pockets. Media revenue will also take a hit. Networks such as Star Sports and JioStar were major beneficiaries of fantasy game commercials. The ban threatens to cause a sharp decline in revenue from IPL and ICC events. On the ground, to have the ban on gaming potentially will lead to mass layoffs. Platforms are firing employees or providing paltry severance. Official estimates put 45 crore citizens at a combined loss of over INR 20,000 crore every year from real-money gaming. Reuters cites Flutter's India business, Junglee, closing operations with $200 million in estimated lost revenue for 2025. Also Reaad | England's title sponsor in India's race after Dream11's reported exit: Reports Real-Money Gaming Ban - A Wake-Up Call Cricket's deep ties with fantasy gaming are being exposed. With a major source of funding gone overnight, the sport, and related businesses, face a grim earnings void. The game’s administrators, players, and media partners must now navigate an uncertain future and reinvent commercial models without real-money gaming.