IGA Talks about the Growing Threat of Unregulated Sweepstakes at Indian Gaming Tradeshow
Gambling is one of the favourite pastimes to people from many cultures and countries, India included. If you’ve read anything about Indians, you know that they enjoy placing bets on cricket and buying lottery tickets in hopes of winning big. But is gambling legal in India?
India is one of those countries…
…that has legalized some forms of gambling and banned others. That means that players can still get to gamble within its borders but in a quite limited matter. Continue reading our overview of the legal gambling activities in the country, to discover more about the allowed and restricted forms.
Gambling in India is regulated…
…through both federal and state law. If you go state by state, you will see that regulation varies significantly. The federal law prohibits all forms of gambling, with the exception of games of skill and lotteries. But even these forms of gambling are not available to all Indian players. States still have the final say in whether they’d like to legalize these forms or not. The Public Gaming Act of 1867 allows states to make this decision individually. That’s why you’ll only find a little over a dozen states with legal lotteries. Fantasy sports and horse racing betting, which are considered to be games of skill, as well as rummy and poker, are allowed in most of the states, too.
As far as casino gambling goes…
…many states adopted the federal law, but others fought it and decided to legalize land-based casinos. Among these states, you will see Daman, Sikkim and Goa. But online gambling is a different subject. As you will learn in short, online gambling in India is treated really differently.
Even though federal legislation…
…does not explicitly cover online gambling, it still does not say that you can gamble online in India. This loophole has allowed international online casino sites to get access in the country, and their presence is tolerated. However, foreign exchange transactions are prohibited. At a federal level, there’s a software and IP blocking. The State of Maharashtra has even criminalized interactive gambling. Local online gambling sites are non-existent, except some which have a license by a state, such as PlayWin Lotto in Sikkim.
Sikkim…
…on that note, is one of those states that lobbies for online gambling. Its Sikkim Online Gaming Regulation Act in 2008 was ed with the aim to regulate online gambling within the state’s borders. The bill was introduced in 2015. Goa also allowed offshore operators to provide their services for with a four-year license in 2018. Some other states followed. In the meantime, in 2019, the Sports Online Gaming & Prevention of Fraud Bill was introduced, to provide national authorization of interactive sportsbetting.
However…
…while some states have worked hard to legalize and regulate online gambling, like Andhra Pradesh, others have introduced total bans on online gambling, such as Gujarat. This means that the subject of online gambling legalization and regulation has been and continues to be a real rollercoaster for Indian players, to say the least. But, on the bright side, those players that do get access to international online casino sites can still go over the rules and laws and enjoy a vast variety of games with alternative payment methods.
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To be on the safe side…
…and gamble online without worrying about breaking any federal or state rules, Indian players would need to do two things: get access to an international online casino site and play with an alternative method that won’t leave marks on their bank statements.
This is manageable…
…though. There are many online casinos that accept Indian players, and offer them access to online lottery, sportsbetting, casino and Live Casino games. Sites targeting Indian players, believe it or not, even offer them the chance to play with local payment methods and their local Indian rupee currency.
Therefore, as an Indian player, you can get access to all the things you need to experience a seamless online gambling time. All you need to do is follow these simple online gambling tips.
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Find a legit international online casino…
…to that accepts Indian players. There are hundreds of such online casinos. But are they all legit sites? To know whether you’re ing a regulated online casino, check for its licenses. If licensed by the Spelinspektionen, you can rest assured that it is a legit site to .
Make sure your sensitive details are protected…
…Top online casinos that accept Indian players protect their websites with firewalls and SSL encryption. Look for sites which use encryption certificates issued by COMODO, Thawte or VeriSign, for instance. These are respected encryption providers you can trust.
See whether the games are fair…
…because, if you’re putting yourself at risk to gamble online, you must know whether you’re doing it at a casino which offers completely fair games. Seals of approval by GLI, Random Number Generator and provide only random and fair results.
And most importantly…
…check the casino’s payment methods list. If you see that the casino offers Inpay and PayU, for instance, you should know that it is Indian-targeting site. But, unless your state allows online gambling, you should avoid using local payment methods. You should look for alternative methods like the eWallets Neteller, for instance. You can store money on your eWallet, and deposit and withdraw with it without notifying the bank. Transactions with these payment solutions are not recorded in your bank statement, so no one will know where your money went and where it comes from.
When you do all of this…
…and you find a casino that ticks all the boxes, you can rest assured that you’ll experience a pleasant online gambling experience. Many sites accept Indian players, as mentioned, and allow them to enjoy all the things offered, just like players from other countries do. You can claim bonuses, choose the games you want to play and transact to and from these sites without a worry on your mind.