India Blocks Prominent Crypto Gambling Operators

Crypto Casinos’s Popularity in India

Online gambling is popular in India, with 15% of the global online gambling traffic coming from this South Asian country, which is not surprising for a nation with 1.4 billion people. Some studies indicate that 80% of Indians make at least one wager yearly, including retail and online bets. Most bettors are 20 to 45 years old and predominantly wager on horse racing and cricket.

However, casino games such as slots and poker are gaining a larger market share. Since Indians prefer mobile over desktop gaming, the government had to pay special attention to the existing casino apps. When making their statement, they explained they had banned gambling apps and did not use the term websites.

Projections for the online gambling market signal an annual growth rate of 8.59% between 2023 and 2027, resulting in an expected market revenue of $3.73 billion by 2028. Cryptocurrencies have been used to fund gambling activities at offshore platforms because of their anonymity.

India has 156 million crypto users. To put that into perspective, it’s important to emphasize that the number is three times higher than the combined number of crypto users from Japan, the US, the UK, and Russia. Yet, which segment of the Indian population is gambling with crypto is challenging to estimate because the platforms operate offshore, while banks and financial institutions do not supervise blockchain transactions.

Considering that many online casinos advertise themselves to Indian players as Bitcoin Casinos, there is no doubt that interest in betting with tokens exists. Nearly all of the platforms banned by the government accept crypto payments.

More Serious Regulatory Push

No federal law forbids online gambling in India, but each state and territory can independently regulate the legal landscape for gambling. Gambling is legal in Sikkim, Goa, and Daman. However, multiple offshore platforms accept Indian players from other provinces as well, so the government has been actively working on blocking access to these online casinos.

India has taken more rigorous steps in tightening control over the booming, unregulated gambling market. In July 2023, the government amended its IGST Act, requiring offshore gambling platforms to be registered in India. At the same time, the act empowered the government to block websites that failed to register but continued to offer their services to Indian residents. According to an official report published in October, the government identified 114 illegal gambling platforms operating via domain farming.