Why is Online Betting Booming in India?
India is a country that is home to more than a billion people who do not shy away from expressing their love for all things related to sports. While the country is home to numerous sports including hockey, kabaddi and horse racing, it is their love for cricket that is known the world over. The national team has won the prestigious ODI World Cup twice and has given birth to megastars such as Sachin Tendulkar , MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. Apart from cricket, Indians love gambling as well. While this may not seem the case with the enforcements made by the rather old Gambling Act of 1867, Indians have always loved gambling on local games such as Teen Patti and Andar Bahar. They have also extended their love for gambling on cricket. Cricket betting is a hot topic in India right now and the majority of Indians are in favour of legalising betting on cricket.
According to a report prepared by cricketbettingwali.in, legalising cricket betting will lead to revenues in the millions of dollars. At present, the underground cricket betting market generates close to half a billion dollars annually. If the government would legalise betting then all of this money would pour back into the economy and could also be used to deter other harmful acts such as acts of terrorism that are funded by underground betting.
Why do Punters Prefer Online Betting?
The case for online betting for the punters is easy to understand. At present, there are no land-based casinos in India. Those that are present in Goa are set up on cruise ships which provides a loophole to illegal land-based betting. Punters are required to book their travel when visiting these casinos which adds to the expense. With online betting, the different casinos and bookmakers are only ever a click away. This is becoming the norm especially as mobile handsets are becoming more affordable. There are now several alternatives to the high end iPhones that allow Indians to access similar features on their device for a fraction of the price. Online operators are responding to this trend and have created mobile apps that are also available to be downloaded which makes ease of access a whole lot better.
The other case for online betting can be made due to the improvements in India’s internet infrastructure. Internet is now available more readily throughout the country and India now has the second-largest online presence with 749 million people. Online casinos and bookmakers that had once made UK, Sweden their home when it comes to attracting the punters are now turning their attention towards India for these very reasons. This is great news for Indian punters as they now have access to more betting sites than ever before. This means that they can now shop for the best odds for each cricket match that they want to place a bet on. More choice also means better welcome offers from the online casinos and bookmakers. As the competition increases, bookmakers will start incentivising potential customers with attractive welcome offers such as free bets, no deposit welcome bonuses and cashbacks.
Furthermore, online bookmakers have also introduced features such as in play betting making the act of placing the bet even more exciting. This is a very competitive type of betting because odds are only available for a short time as a match would progress . Some of the bigger bookmakers such as Bet365 even provide live video coverage of the game.
The Future of Online Betting in India
At present, India is classified as a grey list region when it comes to online gambling. The government has placed the onus on the individual states to decide whether they deem the act of betting to be legal or illegal. This is perfectly fine but it is only a matter of time before the industry becomes so big that the government will have no choice but to intervene. While there are several states that simply want nothing to do with gambling including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and most recently Karnataka others there are others that want to hoover up the revenues from online gambling. Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai are popular areas for betting. It is also reported that India is currently losing close to 140 million USD to these offshore bookmakers. Therefore from every angle it seems that India should go towards legalisation as it would make the most financial sense.
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