Everyone is familiar with the country of India. Everyone knows that before this, India’s Public Gambling Act, the Indian federal government considered gambling illegal in India, but the law did not clearly stipulate whether iGaming was illegal. At the same time, different states may have different regulations and legal interpretations. Therefore, the legal landscape for iGaming in India remains unclear and there may be some legal gray areas.

Now Chief Minister (CM) of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has confirmed that the government in the Madhya Pradesh capital has decided to pass a new gambling law. Its main provisions will focus on comprehensive regulations applicable to combating online gambling. We at OCMS have also been paying attention to the Indian iGaming market, so today I, the editor of OCMS, will briefly analyze it with you: What kind of signal does the new gaming regulations promulgated by India represent? Is it good or bad for the Indian gambling market?

Basic situation of Indian iGaming industry

India is a federal republic consisting of 28 federal states and 8 union territories. Federal states are local government units in India with certain autonomous powers. Each federal state has its own chief minister and parliament, who are responsible for managing the administrative, legislative and judicial affairs of the region. Therefore, the Indian authorities have made it clear that gambling is illegal within its borders, but each state has some autonomy, so gaming regulations may vary from state to state. Therefore, casino-like establishments have always existed in India, known as gambling clubs or entertainment venues. These venues usually exist in the form of special licenses, with gambling, poker, etc. as the main game forms. So the Indian gambling market has always been in a legal gray area. Although the Indian betting market operates in an illegal and gray area. But it is massive, generating about US$60 billion a year from legal and illegal gambling activities. It is estimated that India currently loses over US$14 billion on offshore gambling sites.

Indian sports betting

Although Indian sports betting is a less legal field, only a few regions and sports are allowed by the government to conduct legal sports betting. But sports betting has become a popular form of entertainment and investment. Illegal sports betting is very common in India. In 2021, the "Hindustan Times" reported that India's illegal sports betting market can attract US$150 billion a year. A single game of the Indian national cricket team has wagered US$200 million.

Indian lottery

National Lottery of India: The National Lottery of India is run by the Government of India and is one of the most popular lotteries in India. According to official data, total lottery sales in India in 2019-2020 were INR186.6 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion).

1. Other local lotteries: In addition to the national lottery, Indian states and regions also have their own lotteries, and the types and sales of these lotteries vary from region to region. Among them, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Kerala are among the regions with the highest lottery sales in India.
2. Online Lottery: With the popularity of the Internet and smartphones, more and more Indians are buying lottery tickets through online platforms. The online lottery market in India is growing rapidly and is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

With the popularity of smartphones and the Internet in India, more and more Indians are beginning to purchase lottery tickets through online platforms. The online lottery market in India is growing rapidly and is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

Specifically, the report states that India's online lottery market size will grow from approximately INR4.2 billion (approximately US$5.8 million) in 2020 to approximately INR5.3 billion (approximately US$7.3 million) in 2021, and is expected to grow by 2025 to about INR132 billion (about US$1.8 billion).

In addition, the report also pointed out that mobile applications are one of the most important channels in the Indian online lottery market, accounting for more than 70% of the market share. The growth of the online lottery market is mainly driven by the youth as the younger generation prefers to use mobile apps to purchase lottery tickets.

The more popular types of sports betting in India:

1. Cricket Betting: Cricket is one of the most popular sports in India, so cricket betting is also one of the most popular types of betting in India.
2. Football Betting: Although football is not as popular in India as cricket, football betting is also one of the popular types of betting in India.
3. Tennis Betting: Tennis also has a high popularity and following in India.
4. In addition, some Indian events such as kabaddi, horse racing, etc. are also part of the Indian sports betting market.

Legal gambling activities in India:

1. Horse racing: Horse racing is the only gambling activity considered legal in India. Horse racing takes place in several parts of India, including cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
2. Lotteries: The Government of India authorizes several lotteries such as Lucky Lottery, Mega Millions and Sunday Lotto. These lotteries are run by individual state or local governments.
3. Sports Betting: The Indian government has authorized betting activities on some sports competitions such as cricket, football and kabaddi. These activities are usually managed by a franchisee or licensing agency.

Basic situation of Indian Internet

• At the beginning of 2023, India had 692 million Internet users, with an Internet penetration rate of 48.7%.
• India has 467 million social media users as of January 2023, accounting for 32.8% of the total population.
• At the beginning of 2023, a total of 1.1 billion cellular mobile connections were active in India, which is equivalent to 77.0% of the total population.

Data shows that by the beginning of 2023, 730 million people in India did not use the Internet. Accounting for 51.3% of the total population.

India’s population in 2023

• As of January 2023, India's total population is 1.42 billion. India’s population will increase by 9.7 million people (+0.7%) between 2022 and 2023.
• Women make up 48.4% of the Indian population and men make up 51.6%.
• As of early 2023, 36.1% of India's population lived in urban centers, while 63.9% lived in rural areas.

India's population by age

• 8.0% are aged between 0 and 4 years old.
• 13.6% were between 5 and 12 years old.
• 8.8% were between the ages of 13 and 17.
• 12.6% were between 18 and 24 years old.
• 16.7% were between 25 and 34 years old.
• 14.3% are between 35 and 44 years old.
• 11.1% were between the ages of 45 and 54.
• 8.0% were between 55 and 64 years old.
• 7.0% were 65 and over.

Internet connection speed in India (2023)

The data we released from Ookla shows that Internet users in India expect the following Internet connection speeds in early 2023:

Average mobile internet connection speed over cellular: 18.26 Mbps.

Average fixed internet connection speed: 49.09 Mbps.

Data from Ookla shows that median mobile internet connection speeds in India increased by 3.87 Mbps (+26.9%) in the twelve months to early 2023.

Meanwhile, fixed internet connection speeds in India increased by 1.69 Mbps (+3.6%) over the same period, Ookla data showed.

India Social Media Statistics (2023)

For gambling platforms, accounts with social media are the potential target gamblers of the gambling platform. After all, those with certain financial resources or regular workers will use social accounts. (But there are also cases where a single person uses multiple social accounts)

In January 2023, there were 467 million social media users in India. Equivalent to 32.8% of the total population. At the same time, data released by advertising planning tools of major social media platforms show that at the beginning of 2023, there were 398 million users aged 18 and above using social media in India, equivalent to 40.2% of the total population aged 18 and above.

Women make up 26.5% of social media users in India, while men make up 73.5%.

Indian urban per capita income

Urban per capita income in India varies across cities and regions. According to 2020 statistics, the richest city in India is Mumbai, with a per capita income of approximately US$23,841, followed by the capital Delhi at US$21,693. These two cities are considered among the richest and most developed cities in India. Some other cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata also have higher per capita income. But about 40% of Indian cities have a per capita income of about US$1,000-2,000 per month.

Based on 2020 statistics, here are the per capita incomes (in USD) of some major cities in India:

1. Mumbai: 23,841
2. Delhi: 21,693
3. Bangalore: 17,671
4. Hyderabad: 16,023
5. Pune: 15,045
6. Chennai: 13,825
7. Kolkata: 12,594
8. Noida: 11,153
9. Indore: 9,553
10. Jabalpur: 9,501

It should be noted that India has serious economic inequality. There is a large income gap between urban and rural areas, and there are also income differences between different classes within cities. Therefore, India’s urban per capita income data can only be used as a reference. People living in Indian cities are the main customers of gaming platforms. Therefore, despite India's large population base, India's population advantage is not prominent in terms of the proportion of population living in cities and income.

iGaming Is Soaring in India

The Indian iGaming market is experiencing rapid growth as the popularity of the Internet and widespread use of smartphones, as well as the convenience of online payments, have accelerated the Indian iGaming industry. The iGaming in India has huge potential. More and more Indians are embracing iGaming, especially young people and urban dwellers. According to some reports, India's iGaming market may grow by more than 20% annually. The rapid popularity of iGaming has also prompted India to introduce a strict ban on iGaming. This is also due to this reason.

Summary

India is a multicultural and multireligious country, and these religious beliefs have different attitudes towards gambling. Among them, Hindu sects generally believe that gambling is an immoral behavior, while India has a long history of gaming culture and history, such as Indian casinos and gambling games have been very famous in the early days. However. The Indian government also needs to take into account its own interests, including preventing its own people from falling into financial difficulties due to gambling and preventing illegal activities such as money laundering. Therefore, the ban on gambling can be seen as a protective measure. However, banning gambling may also lead to some negative impacts, including promoting the development of the illegal gambling market, increasing crime rates in the gambling industry, and causing some consumers to be defrauded and defrauded of their money. Therefore, the Indian government has adopted a flexible policy to allow states to open gambling operations according to their own circumstances. This approach is similar to the pilot city model, which allows individual cities to open gambling operations under specific circumstances in order to test its feasibility.

However, with the popularization of the Internet, more and more Indians have come into contact with iGaming, which has also accelerated the growth of the Indian iGaming market. The iGaming market in India has huge potential, and more and more Indians are beginning to accept iGaming, especially young people and urban residents. Therefore, the editor boldly guesses that the Indian authorities' approach to iGaming is actually the same as that of offline gambling. Essentially it should be the same. Therefore, the Indian government's iGaming policy is not static, but is constantly adjusted and improved according to the actual situation. Therefore, it is foreseeable that the Indian iGaming market will face more changes and challenges in the future.

Another point is the sports betting in India; India is a country that loves sports, and cricket, football, basketball, tennis, etc. have received widespread attention and enthusiasm. Many Indians pay close attention to sports results and outcomes and bet on them. Especially for some large-scale sports events, such as the Cricket World Cup, Indian Premier League, Premier League, etc., the scale and revenue of underground sports betting activities may be even greater.

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