India Drafts New Online Gambling Regulations

Anil Panesar - Senior WriterAnil Panesar - 03 February 2023 in News
Icc News Header Week 5 2023

There is now a draft of regulations for online gambling in India. This comes after a long and hard few months of grappling by the country’s related ministers. This draft covers which types of gaming will be accepted online, what the procedure will be to regulate iGaming in India, and will hopefully aid in minimizing black market gambling as a result.

The Driving Force Behind The Bill

Gender is one of the biggest driving forces behind this draft legislation. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s Minister of State for Electronics and IT, noted that women make up a large demographic of the Indian gambling market. In fact, they hold nearly half the quota of gamblers in the country, coming in between 40 – 45% of the gambling market. As such, the team saw a need to enforce and create a safe gaming system online.

Startups To Be Supported By The New Draft

Chandrasekhar also noted the financial benefits of iGaming as a driving force of the draft. The iGaming market reaches into the trillions of dollars of revenue stream annually. Furthermore, he recognizes online gambling as a major part of the global startup culture. As such, Chandrasekhar noted that India will also be supporting local startups in the iGaming industry going forward.

What Is Covered In The Draft Legislation

The draft bill centers heavily on security and safety. There are three key areas specifically that the draft aims to uphold:

  • Responsible Gambling
  • Regulation of the iGaming system in India
  • Reduction of black-market gambling in the country

The bill aims to enforce these above all else. As you may have seen in previous news articles on our site, black market gambling is a common practice in India at this time. Hopefully by introducing online gambling, these make shift casinos will slowly start to taper off.

Why The Sudden Shift In Acceptance

The team behind the bill has supported their document based off of the financial benefits the market could hold for the country. It was mentioned that the iGaming sector within India could reach the potential of INR413.22 billion (US$5 billion) by only 2025. This comes from a report issued by Sequoia and BCG. The companies estimate an annual growth rate of 15% within India.

More To Come

However, the bill is not yet finalized and is still open to suggestions. Chandrasekhar noted it may look very different once people’s suggestions have been considered. Poeple may put forth suggestions on which types of games are accepted in the legislation, what the laws surrounding it will be, and more.

However, the one key aspect the team has failed to recognize is the area of sports betting. This, apparently, will be off the table as far as online gambling goes. Regardless of the fact that punting requires a level of skill like other casino games considered for the bill.

Our Top Indian Online Casinos September 2023
Get Free Bonuses Weekly!

Get the hottest bonuses delivered straight to your inbox, spam free!