As with every country in the world nowadays, online gambling in India has seen a surge in users ever since the internet and mobile phones have enabled this sector to grow with brands such as Casino Captain aimed at Indian players. Added to that, India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a flourishing middle-class population, which means that some Indian players have more disposable income to spend on online gambling.
One might argue that such factors are an ideal breeding ground for the online gambling sector, especially when factoring in the current Indian legislation which seems to be somewhat lenient when it comes non-Indian casino companies being allowed to promote their games to Indian players, so long as they are able to offer Indian Rupees as a payment method.
It is widely reported that the Indian gambling market is worth around US$60 billion per year, unfortunately half of this is illegal betting. Therefore, the market share is enormous which means that some big offshore online casino companies will want to get a slice of that ever-growing cake.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got a lot to deal with at the moment with the deadly Delhi riots that have seen 37 people die as a result of sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims, so looking to freshen up the 2011 Federal Information Technology Act, mightn’t be on his agenda. However, the formation of the Responsible Gambling Collaborative which was initiated by the American Gaming Association in 2018, might prove to be a good group to watch when it comes to dealing with the prevention of problem gambling.
Indian players will no-doubt be hoping that their government is able to introduce, preferably alongside gambling companies should they wish to curb the amount of illegal betting that already takes place across India. Such an initiative will create more jobs over time for people to work in as well as monitor problem gambling
