Gaming
WTT Star Contender Goa 2024 tickets now available on BookMyShow
Mumbai: International table tennis carnival with the WTT Star Contender Goa 2024, On BookMyShow to watch at close quarters as ticket sales have begun.
The second edition of international table tennis tournament is scheduled at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Mapusa, Goa from 23 to 28 January with top global stars including the World No. 5 Hugo Calderano, the last edition’s runner-up Cheng I-Ching (WR 18) and former World No. 1 and two-time Olympics bronze medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov (WR 12) headlining the highly competitive field along with 14 other Top-20 paddlers.
The tickets are available at:
The tournament will be co-hosted by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis under the guidance of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).
“We are excited to launch ticket sales for WTT Star Contender Goa 2024, the epitome of international tournaments. This presents a significant opportunity for Indian fans to rally behind their athletes, providing crucial motivation as they prepare for the upcoming Olympics. With the best athletes from across the globe competing, the tournament promises an exciting show and we look forward to welcoming fans from every corner of the country and world to join us in celebrating the magic of table tennis on the grandest stage,” commented Stupa Sports Analytics tournament director and co-founder & COO Deepak Malik.
Ace paddlers Manika Batra, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran are set to lead the home challenge as a record 41 Indians will be in action.
Tickets are now on sale across five categories—Stand Topspin & Block, Stand Serve & Receive, Stand Push & Flick, VIP, and Premium Lounge. Prices for the qualifying rounds start at Rs 349, reaching up to Rs 1,499 per session. For the main draw matches, including the semi-finals and finals, ticket prices vary from Rs 599 to Rs 4,999 per session. VIP and Premium Lounge tickets have been designed to offer passionate fans an enhanced stadium experience, complete with a complimentary snack.
Fans can also buy a full event pass, starting from Rs 4,399, which will allow them to enjoy the thrilling action on all six days.
The qualifying rounds will be played on 23 and 24 January whereas the semi-finals and finals are scheduled on 27 and 28 January respectively.
Gaming
Dream Sports sees 100 plus exits after gaming ban forces overhaul
Company splits into eight units as real money gaming law hits revenue.
MUMBAI: For a company built on fantasy leagues, reality has suddenly rewritten the rulebook. More than 100 employees have exited Dream Sports, the parent of Dream11, after the company reorganised its operations following India’s ban on real money online gaming. The shake up came after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force in August 2025, prohibiting games where users deposit money expecting winnings. The regulation struck at the heart of the fantasy gaming industry and dramatically affected Dream Sports’ core business, wiping out about 95 percent of its revenue and all of its profits.
In response, the Mumbai based company shifted into what chief executive officer Harsh Jain described as “startup mode”, splitting its operations into eight independent business units in December.
Around 700 employees were reassigned across these newly formed ventures based on their experience and interests. However, roughly 15 percent opted to leave the company.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports said many of those who exited were experienced professionals accustomed to running scaled businesses rather than early stage ventures.
“Since some of these employees were experienced with running high scale businesses and not startups, around 15 percent chose to leave and join other scaled companies or start ventures of their own,” the spokesperson said.
Despite the departures, the company noted that the attrition rate is only slightly higher than its earlier level of around 10 percent before the ban. Dream Sports now has close to 950 employees and is not currently hiring, choosing instead to focus on stabilising its existing workforce.
The restructuring has transformed Dream Sports from a fantasy gaming company into a broader sports entertainment platform. The eight units now operate independently, each focusing on different segments of the sports and technology ecosystem.
These include Dream11, sports streaming platform Fancode, sports travel service DreamSetGo, mobile game Dream Cricket and artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, which includes sports analytics platform Dream Play.
Other ventures include fintech product Dream Money, open source initiative Dream Horizon and the philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
As part of cost saving efforts, Dream Sports also relocated its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex to Worli earlier this year. The new office, called Dream Sports Stadium, brings teams from its various brands together under one roof to improve collaboration and operational efficiency.
Jain had earlier said the company removed bonus lock in timelines for employees hired in recent years, allowing those who wished to leave to exit with pro rata payouts.
“We want people who are fully into the startup mode and willing to work for it, and we will share that reward if it comes,” he said.
Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at 8 billion dollars after raising 840 million dollars in 2021 from investors including Falcon Edge Capital, DST Global, D1 Capital Partners, RedBird Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, TPG and Footpath Ventures.
The new gaming law has forced several companies in the fantasy gaming sector to either shut down or pivot their business models, signalling a significant reset for one of India’s fastest growing digital entertainment industries.
