My11Circle doubles down on data, distraction and the dugout

It was hard for anyone watching Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 — on TV, OTT, or social media — to miss My11Circle’s omnipresent campaign, ‘Circle Mein Aaja’ (Come into the circle). Conceptualised by Vasan Bala and executed by The Script Room, the six-ad film series featured cricket stars like Sourav Ganguly, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, each playfully landing themselves into a fan’s fantasy team. The campaign also reimagined a 90s Anu Malik classic, ‘Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Jaa,’ (Come, sit in my car) into a nostalgia-fuelled anthem tailored for digital-age cricket fans.

The campaign's ambition and execution reflected the strategic scale at which Games24x7 is operating with My11Circle. The fantasy platform is now in its second year as the official associate partner of Tata IPL, having outbid category leader Dream11 for the five-year deal. But what justified this bold bet in Year 1, and how is it tracking so far in Year 2?

"Our associate partnership with Tata IPL was a strategic decision, aligned with our commitment to enhancing the fan experience and our long-term vision for the partnership," Saroj Panigrahi, chief operating officer of Games24x7 told Campaign. He pointed to significant upticks in brand awareness, team creations, and mega prize winners in 2024. Year 2, according to him, is about sustaining and scaling that momentum.

The media mix for IPL 2025 retained a high-impact design, with digital leading the charge via My11Circle’s co-presenting partnership with JioCinema. This gave the brand deep integration into live digital streaming, including mobile and connected TV environments.

Traditional media, social platforms, and on-ground activations like ‘Circle Salute’ — which honoured behind-the-scenes IPL workers — were layered in to maintain relevance across touchpoints. "Tata IPL remains the cornerstone of our annual marketing calendar," Panigrahi noted, highlighting that digital wasn’t just about scale but real-time, data-driven interaction.

A recent report by Qoruz estimates that influencer-driven marketing during IPL 2025 attracted more than INR 550 crore in brand spending—a sharp 50% jump compared to the previous season. The surge reflects a deliberate pivot by advertisers toward engaging Gen Z and millennial audiences, who now spend significantly more time with creator-led content than with conventional media platforms.

This can be seen in the case on My11Circle too. On the creative front, the addition of international cricketers like Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran, and Marco Jansen added global appeal, while regional influencers bolstered grassroots connections. The result: a multi-tiered campaign stack that married celebrity firepower with community resonance.

To measure performance, the platform employs a full-funnel analytics framework. "We let data guide our decisions, even if it challenges our strongest instincts," Panigrahi explained.

Brand recall, engagement time, contest participation rates, and user acquisition are monitored in real-time. The ‘Mere Circle Mein Aaja’ campaign, combined with influencer and product pushes, contributed to what Panigrahi describes as "balanced growth across the funnel."

AI owns the game now

A new whitepaper authored by Columbia University’s Professor Vishal Misra, vice-dean of computing and AI, explores how India’s booming fantasy sports sector could accelerate AI adoption in sports. Titled ‘Fantasy Sports as a Catalyst for India’s AI Revolution in Sports’, and unveiled at WAVES 2025, the report highlights how user engagement generates detailed performance data—even from smaller tournaments—offering a fertile ground for predictive AI models. Its accessibility across audiences positions fantasy sports as a democratic entry point for AI innovation.

AI also plays a central role in MyCircle11’s gaming equation. This year, the company introduced AI-driven features to enhance gameplay and elevate the overall user experience. These included innovations like Fan Zones, which delivered hyper-personalised experiences tailored to distinct user cohorts based on their gameplay patterns, making each journey more rewarding and competitive.

Panigrahi claimed that another innovation that won the hearts of fans was Winner’s Reaction, which was created as a feature to redefine how trust and community are built in fantasy gaming. He opined that the ability for users to instantly share raw, unfiltered photos and videos after a win adds a layer of authenticity and emotion rarely seen in this category.

“Our AI-driven Team Machine enables users to create multiple teams instantly by uploading images, Excel sheets, screenshots, or even handwritten notes, simplifying a previously time-consuming process. Another highlight is Live Match Analysis, which offers dynamic, real-time insights such as winning probabilities and player performance, personalized for each user’s team,” he added, stating that the company is not just about entertainment; but is committed to creating smarter and more enjoyable gameplay for its users.

"Our AI- and data-science team delves into terabytes of player data to gain deep insights into user motivations and preferences," Panigrahi said. These insights feed into contest design, push notifications, and gamification elements that strengthen user retention.

Getting up close and personal

In a crowded market of lookalike fantasy platforms, such differentiation matters. Panigrahi believes that while many platforms may offer similar products on the surface, it is MyCircle11’s depth of personalisation, seamless experience, and continuous innovation that truly sets it apart.

In March 2025, Ravindra Bisht, a chef from Delhi and native of Almora, Uttarakhand, saw his fortunes change dramatically during a recent trip back to the capital. While returning from his village, he created a fantasy cricket team on My11Circle during an IPL match — and later woke up to discover he’d won INR 3 crore. The windfall also earned him a Thar SUV, a Royal Enfield Bullet bike, and a high-end smartphone, stunning his parents who lived in the village.

However, such success stories are far and between. Harshil Vora (name changed on request), a Mumbai resident and My11Circle user since 2022, revealed he’s never won more than INR 51 on the platform.

“Winning mega contests is nearly impossible without entering at least 10 teams,” he said. Instead, he now focuses on smaller contests with INR 15–INR 35 entry fees, which have fewer participants and, in his experience, offer better odds of winning. This shift, he believes, makes the gameplay more practical and rewarding. 

Retention beyond IPL is a strategic imperative. After IPL 2024, My11Circle relied on its data reservoir to segment and retarget users through in-app experiences, push notifications, and new contest formats. Cricket remains the primary hook, but the company is also exploring traction in sports like kabaddi.

One emerging demographic that My11Circle is consciously adapting to is urban women. "Our focus has always been to make our platforms more accessible, inclusive, and enjoyable for everyone," said Panigrahi. The platform's simplified UX, bite-sized contests, and nostalgia-driven storytelling are designed to resonate with broader, more diverse fan segments.

However, not all is rosy in the regulatory landscape. The implementation of 28% GST on full entry amounts has dented profitability for all real-money gaming platforms. "It has undoubtedly impacted the online gaming industry as a whole. However, it has also presented an opportunity for businesses to rebuild, innovate, and realign with the evolving regulatory landscape," Panigrahi noted. He emphasised that the industry’s growing contribution to the exchequer also legitimises its place in India’s digital economy.

Despite these regulatory headwinds, Games24x7 appears committed to the long haul. The My11Circle brand is being built not merely through advertising muscle but with sustained tech-led engagement, performance tracking, and platform innovation.

From AI-generated teams and real-time match analysis to celebrating winners with raw, emotional content, the platform's tech stack is now its key differentiator. And as the IPL audience gets more fragmented, nuanced, and platform-hopping, My11Circle's ability to personalise, localise, and gamify may be what keeps users firmly in its circle.