Deepak Jacob has stepped down from Dream Sports and returned to private legal practice, closing a significant chapter in his career as an in-house legal and public policy leader.
Jacob joined Dream Sports in 2022 and served as President and Group General Counsel. In the role, he led a wide portfolio covering legal affairs, regulatory strategy, public policy, government relations, trust and safety, law enforcement engagement and content governance.
His tenure coincided with a period of considerable change for India’s online gaming industry. Policy interventions, taxation changes and tighter compliance requirements reshaped the operating environment for gaming companies, placing legal and regulatory teams at the centre of business decision-making.
At Dream Sports, Jacob worked on the company’s engagement with policymakers and regulators while strengthening governance systems across its businesses. The group’s portfolio includes Dream11, FanCode, DreamSetGo and other digital platforms, collectively serving more than 220 million users.
His departure also marks a return to the profession where he began his career. Jacob started as an independent litigation lawyer, appearing before the Delhi High Court, before moving into senior corporate legal and regulatory positions.
Over nearly three decades, he has worked across information technology, telecommunications, media, entertainment, streaming, fantasy sports, gaming, fintech, ecommerce and emerging digital businesses. His experience spans corporate governance, regulatory policy, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, public policy and business strategy.
More than 13 years at Disney
Before joining Dream Sports, Jacob spent more than 13 years with The Walt Disney Company. He served as President and Chief Regional Counsel for Direct-to-Consumer and International operations across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
During his time with Disney Star, he helped shape legal and regulatory strategies supporting the company’s television and digital businesses. He was also involved in India’s cable television digitisation programme, which sought to improve subscriber transparency and strengthen subscription revenues for broadcasters.
Jacob was among those involved in creating the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council, an industry-led self-regulatory body established to address viewer grievances while maintaining editorial independence.
His earlier career included senior legal leadership assignments at Reliance Infocomm, eBay, Star India and 21st Century Fox. These roles gave him experience in corporate transactions, regulatory affairs, litigation, public policy and the legal challenges faced by rapidly expanding consumer-facing businesses.
Legal leadership beyond the courtroom
Jacob’s in-house career has extended well beyond conventional legal advisory work. He has built and managed multidisciplinary teams covering compliance, government relations, policy, trust and safety, content governance and engagement with law enforcement agencies.
That combination of legal knowledge and commercial understanding became particularly relevant as digital platforms expanded into heavily regulated sectors. Companies operating in gaming, media, fintech and artificial intelligence increasingly require legal leaders who can interpret regulatory changes while helping management teams assess their wider business impact.
His return to private practice brings that experience back to an advisory setting. His areas of expertise include regulatory strategy, corporate governance, high-stakes litigation, public policy and complex matters involving technology-led businesses.
For Dream Sports, the exit comes as the company continues to build businesses beyond fantasy sports, including sports technology, content and commerce. The leadership change also arrives at a time when online gaming companies are managing a more demanding legal environment shaped by taxation, platform regulation, competition law, data protection and evolving digital policy.
Jacob’s move completes a full circle in a career that began in litigation and later moved through some of India’s most prominent technology and media businesses. His return to private practice now places him in a position to draw on both sides of that experience, combining courtroom foundations with years of boardroom, regulatory and operational exposure.
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