Dream11 Seeks SEBI Approval for Stock-Broking Business: Report

After falling from grace in the wake of tight regulation on real-money gaming, fantasy gaming app Dream11 is looking to enter the stock-broking business as it looks to tap into India's growing investor base, reports LiveMint.

The move comes as a necessary pivot for Dream11, which pulled the plug on its core real-money gaming segment after the government's introduction of the Online Gaming Bill, which tightened restrictions around real-money and betting-style games.

Dream11 is looking to come back into the Indian market as a stockbroker, with the company looking to tap into its vast 260 million user base. The report cites sources within the organisation that say Dream 11, which is backed by Tencent and Tiger Global, sees stock broking as a 'natural adjacency'.

With the government introducing curbs on real-money gaming, Dream11 reportedly lost 95% of its revenue stream and has since switched to a free to play, ad-supported revenue model.

In a recent statement, Dream11's chief executive officer, Harsh Jain, said, "The only way to deal with 95% of your revenue being gone is to build new products."

Dream11's plans to enter the stock broking business come amid reports of the company's plans to launch a "Dream Money" wealth management arm, as it looks to take the competition to the likes of Zerodha, Angel One and Groww, among others.

One of the sources mentioned in the report stated that Dream Money would act as a discount broker, similar to Zerodha and Groww, though nothing is concrete yet.

As mentioned earlier, India has witnessed an unprecedented growth in its investor base in recent years. However, penetration remains low, with only one in 12 Indians being a registered investor on the National Stock Exchange.