The gambling culture in India is influenced by a series of factors, with the size of the country and people's eagerness to get involved in fun and engaging activities online on top. According to an official Google report KPMG, the number of people who gamble on a constant basis in India has grown from 20 million in 2010 to 250 million in 2018.
In terms of money, India's status is also impressive. Future projections speak about a yearly revenue of $340 million for 2021. Indians are not only good at playing casinos for real money online, but they also seem to have a natural talent at designing and exporting games to various global markets. How much is “playing designer” worth in the country? Around $1.7 billion in the upcoming years!
The country is also known as being one of the main influencers part of the worldwide gambling market. Its contribution periodically reaches and even exceeds revenues of US$30 billion a year.
The world-famous Hindu Mythologies are amazing narratives that are hosted in various Hindu texts that are part of the Vedic literature, including epic works like Mahabharata or various regional literature works of art found all across the country. It is these very texts that seem to have hosted the first written mentions of gambling activities, dating back to the year 2000BC. The ancient texts speak about the Indian people having a burning desire to rely on different forms of gambling as a way of dealing with enemy conflicts or, at the opposite end, making new friends. Between 2000BC and 1500BC, Indian Kings seem to have found an absolute pleasure in rolling dice and using their precious jewellery as game stakes. Moreover, their special dice seem to have been manufactured with the help of nuts originating in the Vibhitaka trees. Moreover, ancient Indians thought gambling was an excellent solution for keeping their mind alert. They even gambled while socialising and having honest conversations with their companions.
A few centuries later, they began to embrace gambling as a form of leisure, considering it a genuine sport that started being passed down from generation to generation, from the elders to the youngsters. They particularly preferred sports that involved horses and other animals and, as expected, horse racing was one of their preferred types of gambling activities to get involved in. Sports kept growing and evolving and the 15th century brought even more structure to the existing forms of sports. Naturally, gambling houses started becoming legal. The King started to receive received a share of the profits these houses were made. Most of today's casino games that are played in India and other parts of the world were invented during the fifteen century. Three centuries later, when the first Europeans started coming to India, they also brought along the game of Cricket. Indians grew extremely fond of the game and they quickly turned into it into a national sport. People started to wager thousands of Indian rupees on a single game, betting on their favourite teams and crossing their finger for a win. Sound familiar? Yes, the ancestor of today's sports betting is deeply rooted back in history. When the British people took over at the end of the 18th century, gambling houses started losing their legal character, along with lottery, rummy and horse races. This did not prevent the Indians from continuing to express their passion and huge interest in gambling and in the following years. Moreover, gambling started to become even more popular and people started embracing it in their homes and even in the streets. They also started introducing larger stakes during their wagers.
During the 20th century, the government in the country started implementing a series of gambling restrictions, mostly because of the addiction that the citizens started to experiment. Lots of Indians started betting beyond their limits. This hasn't stopped people who were passionate gamblers to continue to pursue their love for sports and gambling. The invention of the Internet and the rise in the number of computers in the country gave people a new direction.
Today, gambling in the country continues to be subject to a large number of serious restrictions, with the exception of horse races and lottery games. Those who oppose these activities mention arguments like illegal gambling potentially leading to higher crime numbers, more corruption and other similar issues. On the other hand, supporters of legal gambling claim the activity is an important way of showing more support towards the state by bringing in bigger revenues. For example, land casinos found in Goa periodically contribute around Rs. 135 crores. Passionate gamblers in India can visit Daman, Sikkim and Goa Casinos now operate in Goa, Daman and Sikkim, for a total of around twenty casinos, including floating casinos operating on the Mandovi River.
India can still be considered a rookie country compared to Australia, China or the United States in terms of gambling. However, the future is looking brighter by the day. For example, Sikkim had plans to give out an online casino licence ten years ago but failed. Sikkim now hosts an online lottery that accepts bets from players residing in all parts of India. More states are expected to follow their example and contribute to the growth and development of online forms of gambling.
Even though domestic casinos are not officially allowed to market and create casino sites or various betting platforms online, this does not mean casino or sports betting fans do not still have plenty of viable alternatives online. Non-Indian casinos like the top casinos online for real money you can find on our site are also called “offshore casinos” and they are dedicated to catering to the needs of players in India. This means you can expect to be allowed to make deposits and withdrawals using the Indian Rupee as a primary accepted fiat currency, along with hot online casino no deposit bonuses, rewarding promotions and game themes preferred by players in the country. Think at Bollywood themed games, elephant or famous Bollywood actor themed games of pokes by top casino software providers. How does customer support in Hindi and English sound to you? Today's casino players can enjoy all that and a lot more. Don't believe us, just pick one from the top Indian casino reviews we listed for you.
People who continue to speak against online gaming in India claim players continue to engage in irresponsible gambling behaviour that could easily lead to addictions or illegal activities. On the opposite end, we can find the supporters who see the incredible potential of the revenues that could help strengthen the economy in the country. Not a long time ago, land casinos in Sikkim were generating incredible revenues of over 150 crores. If you are curious to see what a brick-and-mortar Indian casino looks like, you can visit any of the twenty land casinos in Daman, Sikkim or Goa. Particularly interesting gambling experience is provided by the floating casinos located on the Mandovi River.
India has, without a doubt, managed to create an incredible online gambling and gaming niche that was initiated just a few years ago. The ever-growing number of mobile devices and the introduction of 3G, 4G and even 5G technologies more recently has definitely contributed to the birth of the niche. Passionate video game and casino players who do not wish to travel long distances only to find a land casino or video gaming parlour can pick up their laptop or smartphone and access top games instantly. They are available 24 hours a day and they can be played at incredibly fast, high-quality internet connections. You can play casinos for free or for real money, which means you can constantly practice and improve your skills for free and get make some extra money whenever you want to. For a country that loves games from ancient times, this is excellent news.
The cheap cost of data plans in the country is another huge factor that contributes to the popularity of mobile games. Taking your tablet or smartphone on the go, in any remote location outside the house and using your mobile data to access an online casino and play your favourite games is, therefore, extremely affordable. Combined, these factors help make the gaming culture in India stronger by the day, with a considerably growing database of players online. Since they only have a very limited number of land casinos to choose from, the online alternative sounds more appealing than ever.
Indian states are directly responsible for creating and implementing all gambling activities in their jurisdiction, with the Public Gambling Act of 1867 being one of the first gambling laws in the country. According to the Act, casinos that broke the law were given a ₹200 fine or they were sent to prison for 90 days. The same act also mentioned that people in India were not allowed to visit gambling houses or else they would risk ₹100 fines and being sent to jail for 30 days.
On the other hand, the Information Technology Act that was issued in 2000 stared regulating virtual gambling in India. However, it never mentioned the words “betting" or “gambling”, which means the entire Act and the regulations in it were rather left for interpretation. The Court, however, did not accept the examination of these elements. Each state is responsible for ruling its own gambling activities. For example, the state of Maharashtra relies on the "Bombay Wager Act" to regulate gambling in the region and other states use other ruling acts for the same purpose.
India only has three states that allow gambling (Goa, Sikkim and Daman). Another interesting fact about casinos in the country is the fact that the Gambling Act in 1976 only allows casinos to be built inside a five-star hotel or inside an offshore vessel, as long as the government rules for it.
For now, the fine for a player in India being caught gambling using a domestic online casino online using a domestic casino that is not allowed to operate is of ₹90,000 a day. At the same time, Indian players are allowed to register their accounts on offshore casinos that are directed towards players in India without rising any fines.
One of the primary problems that online gamblers in India have to deal with is the matter of deposits made to foreign online sportsbooks that are usually directed towards Neteller and Skrill users. Using credit and debit cards accepted in other parts of the world usually fails here, and the same goes for bank transfers on the web. However, you can still use a series of popular e-wallet service for making a deposit. This way, punters and casino players alike can make use of Indian rupees when making their deposits or requesting a cashout.
Given the variety of problems that arose because of the controversial Foreign Exchange law, this alternative is a breath of fresh air for players in India. The great majority of the online casinos we recommend to you on our platform will allow you to select you favourite banking methods using Indian Rupees as a currency, so you can rest assured you will benefit from better offers, no or limited currency exchange rates and a more streamlined gambling process in general. Plus, we strive to only introduce you to casinos that provide 24/7 customer support services in Hindi and English. These elements are also essential for building the powerful casino culture in the country, with special emphasis on video games online casino gambling and sports betting.
If you are eager to access some of the hottest casinos online designed with the player in India in mind, we invite you to take a look at the recommended list of best casino reviews and make your pick. Grab your favourite mobile device and enjoy an entire casino in the palm of your hand.
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