Forced to prematurely terminate its association with fantasy gaming platform Dream11 after the passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025, the BCCI, on Tuesday, invited fresh bids from “reputed firms” for acquiring the national team lead sponsor rights.
With the men’s T20 Asia Cup, starting September 9 in the UAE, the BCCI is already running against time to find a jersey sponsor for the national team. On Tuesday, the national cricket board announced the release of an Invitation for Expression of Interest (IEOI), which provides the detailed terms and conditions governing the submission and evaluation of bids.
The last date to purchase IEOI documents is September 12, while the deadline for submission of bid documents is set on September 16.
Dream11 had signed a three-year deal worth Rs 358 crore in July 2023 to replace edtech company Byju’s as the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team. However, under the provisions of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, partnerships with real-money gaming companies are rendered illegal, resulting in the termination of the deal.
Among the various criteria listed out by the national cricket board, the most important addition is that the bidder, including any of its group companies, who is engaged in online money gaming, betting or gambling services or similar services in India or anywhere in the world; provides any online money gaming, betting or gambling services or similar services to any person in India; and has any investment or ownership interest in any person engaged in betting or gambling services in India won’t be permitted to submit a bid.
The BCCI also stated that the bidder, including any of its Group companies, should not be directly or indirectly engaged in the business of crypto trading or crypto exchange or crypto token or any business of similar nature.
Additionally, the BCCI also closed all doors for bidders attempting to submit bids through surrogate brands. Surrogate branding refers to any attempt to indirectly submit a bid on behalf of a different entity or Person through the use of a different entity or person. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of different names, brands, identity or logos.
Indian team to feature in Asia Cup without lead sponsor?
It remains uncertain whether India will have a front-of-shirt sponsor for the Asia Cup. It seems highly unlikely that a deal could be reached before the tournament and thus India in all likelihood could play the tournament without a lead sponsor.