Gambling ranks among the world’s fastest-growing industries and sports betting is one of its more popular trends. In 2019, the gambling market as a whole was valued at some 12.5 billion dollars: a number that was tipped to become even higher over a five-year period. Gambling has long enjoyed a significant role to play in India, and, in recent years, we’ve seen sports betting become more and more popular within the industry.
Indian gamblers have a whole host of sports betting platforms play at, even though finding the best sites isn’t always the easiest of tasks. Fortunately, help has been at hand through the advent of comparison sites such as BettingGuru.in. These sites have only helped the sports betting industry in India, which continues to enjoy big business in spite of issues surrounding legality. There have been numerous discussions as to whether sports betting online is legal in India or not. But that hasn’t prevented the industry from being increasingly successful among gamblers in India. Here are three reasons behind the rise of online sports betting in India, including a discussion on the aforementioned legality.
Indians Love Using Their Phones
One reason behind the increasing popularity of online sports betting among Indian gamblers is that Indians are spending every one in three waking hours on their phones. A large number of online sports betting sites have websites or apps that work just fine on smart devices, so this lends itself to the social habits of Indian citizens. Indians spend even more time using their mobile devices than on laptops and desktop computers. This is certainly one of the most influential reasons behind the continual growth of online sports betting in India.
It’s All Cricket (and Football) to Them
The most popular sports enjoyed in India are cricket and football. The passion for these sports in India resulted in a boost to online sports betting in the country. It’s hard to say whether or not sports betting would even be available in India without these sports. It certainly wouldn’t be as popular. Yes, Indians enjoy other forms of entertainment, such as Bollywood movies and new anime releases. But when it comes to sport, cricket and football continue to remain supreme.
Legalisation is Likely
Online sports betting may not yet be legal in India, but there is a market for sports betting in what is considered a grey area. No actual laws exist that restrict Indians from accessing online sports betting sites based in other parts of the world where betting is legal. As India regards sports betting as being illegal in their own country, however, these sites have to be based in a country outside of India for it to be regarded as legal. Looking at the increasing number of Indians who engage in online sports betting, we may see sports betting be legalised in India sooner rather than later.
After all, the government will be the ones that will benefit from legalisation more than any other individual or organisation. With regulation in place, the government would be able to collect taxes either by taxing betting sites or players directly. Regulating sports betting would also restrict the age limit of those able to gamble, as well as encourage responsible gambling. Overall, the benefits of online sports betting being legalised in India are obvious. The change would bring an old industry into the modern era for a safer online sports betting experience that would benefit the government, betting operators, and players alike.
