How to Block Dream11 and Fantasy Sports Apps on Your Child's Phone

Short answer: you don't have to block Dream11 by name. ParentalEdge already blocks well-known fantasy, rummy, poker and betting apps on every age card, and we keep adding to the list. For anything it doesn't recognise, check the app's status in your Apps list and block it.

On Android, well-known gambling and fantasy sports apps, and gambling websites, are blocked by default on every age card in ParentalEdge.

Block them in 2 minutes →

Why this one is hard to police by hand

Dream11, MPL, My11Circle, WinZO, BalleBaazi, MyTeam11 — and that's before the small ones. During IPL they're on every ad break, every YouTube pre-roll, every Reel, endorsed by the players your child already idolises.

So a parent who blocks the three they've heard of has solved about a fifth of the problem, and will have to do it again in April.

The mechanics underneath are the reason it matters. Entry fees with real money. Rewards that arrive unpredictably — mostly you lose, occasionally you don't, and that's precisely the pattern that forms a habit. Leaderboards showing the winners and never the losers. A fresh contest every single match.

An adult who understands the odds can call that entertainment. A fourteen-year-old whose impulse control is still under construction is being trained.

The industry's defence was that fantasy sport is skill-based. At the time of writing, India's Online Gaming Act, 2025 (in force since 1 May 2026) prohibits online money games whether they're based on skill or chance, but offshore apps and APKs still circulate. And for a teenager who doesn't yet understand probability, the skill argument never meant much.

What you'd actually notice

• Match statistics turning into homework — pitch reports, player form, weather, checked before every game
• Small requests for UPI money — ₹50 here, ₹100 there, "for a game"
• Mood tracking the scoreboard — elated after a win, sharp and anxious after a loss
• The phone flipping over when you walk past during a match
• Late nights on match days

The UPI gap most parents miss

You may never see a transaction that says Dream11. Teenagers fund these through a parent's Google Pay on an unlocked phone, through their own UPI ID if they're 16 and have an account, through a friend's account with winnings split, or through in-app wallets topped up in amounts small enough that nothing flags.

Worth checking your own payment history as well as theirs, and looking for parent-company names rather than app names.

Blocking it properly

Install ParentalEdge and pick your child's age. Well-known fantasy sports, teen patti, rummy, poker and sports betting apps are in the Restricted category, which is blocked on every age card on Android. Apps from outside the Play Store that we don't recognise aren't caught automatically, so check anything new in your Apps list and block it.

We add new apps to the list as we find them. For anything that's not on it yet, a new-app alert and one tap on Block cover the gap.

Two things that pair well with it:

• New app alerts. When something new is installed on your child's Android phone, you get an email (instant alerts are on by default). If it's in the blocked category it won't open, but you still find out it was installed, which is usually the more useful signal.
• The Ask Parent button (optional). Turn it on in Notifications and your child can ask from the block screen for a blocked app or site, or for more time. You get context before you answer, and they get into the habit of asking instead of looking for a workaround.

Under 13: block, no discussion needed. There's nothing here for them.

14-17: still block, but have the conversation. This is the age where "because I said so" produces a workaround and an explanation produces agreement.

What to say

The argument that lands isn't moral, it's arithmetic:

"These apps make money from the people who lose. That's the whole business — they show you the winners because the winners are the advertising. It's built exactly like gambling. That's why India has now banned real-money games like these, whether they call it skill or not."

Then the part that keeps it from being a fight: "I'm not accusing you of anything. I want you to understand how it works before it gets to you or your friends. Blocked for now. At the time of writing, real-money games aren't legal to offer in India at any age; free-to-play fantasy at 18 is your call."

A teenager who understands the mechanism usually stops finding it impressive.

Frequently asked questions

Are these apps legal for children?
At the time of writing, no. Since the Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, major Indian real-money apps are no longer supposed to offer money games at all. Offshore apps and APKs still circulate, and their age check is usually a tick box with no ID check, so it stops precisely nobody.

How do I check whether my child has already used one?
Look through Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm history for the app names and their parent companies. If they have their own account, ask to see statements periodically — and say up front that you'll be doing that.

Does ParentalEdge catch new gambling apps automatically?
Mostly. Well-known ones are blocked by category, and apps rated 18+ or listed as casino apps in the Play Store are blocked too. An APK from outside the Play Store may not be recognised, so watch for new-app alerts and block anything you're unsure of.

Can they just use the website instead?
Not with web filtering on. Gambling is one of the web categories blocked by default on every age card. ParentalEdge filters the browsers it supports and, by default, blocks other browsers from opening.

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Related: dangerous apps Indian parents should know about.