New Delhi: For the first time in its history, the T-20 top league in the world, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has faced two consecutive years of a decline in its valuation to Rs 76,100 crore in 2025 from Rs 82,700 crore in 2024 and Rs 92,500 crore in 2023. This is according to D and P Advisory, a consulting, advisory, and valuation services firm.

IPL's valuation had peaked in 2023, notes Moneycontrol. The valuation of the money spinning IPL, has taken a sharp hit due to the ban on Real Money Gaming (RMG), which the report records, has removed Rs 1,500–2,000 crore of annual advertising and sponsorship from IPL. 

Broadcaster revenues, franchise partnerships, and fan-engagement activities have all taken a beating and slumped. The emergence of a single media broadcaster, JioStar has also been cited as a reason for the decline.

What else has come to light?

But what the slump has really brought to light is how much real money gaming – now derided by the Union government as harmful for youth and banned abruptly – was integrated into a legitimate activity and a national obsession: T20 cricket. 

Another reason cited for the decline in valuation is the merger of Disney Star and Viacom18 into JioStar. When the digital behemoth came into being, it took away a chunk of the inflated valuation that accompanied media-bidding wars.

The decline is being seen as “structural” due to the emergence of a single broadcaster and the disappearance of a major revenue stream. The 2025 decline is sharper in its commercial impact.

Santosh N, Managing Partner of D and P Advisory acknowledged the disappearance of the revenue stream and the structural nature of the change, but said the league was still buoyant as viewership and stadium attendance showed an upswing. 

IPL is still the most-viewed cricket league in the world and it attracted over one billion viewers across TV and digital platforms. Digital audiences surpassed television for the first time this season.

The report goes on to emphasise that the two leagues, the IPL and the women’s IPL, the WPL have revealed the “new economics of cricket.”  The IPL and WPL together draw over a billion viewers, fill stadiums, and dominate cultural conversations. 

But, “who pays, how much, and under what conditions” is shifting. 

The past decade was about IPL smashing the competition and not allowing any other leagues in the world with a similar format to flower. The coming decade, the report says, will be “about building resilience.” Cricket in India has been described as “a platform economy shaped by audiences, technology, and policy.”

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