Despite housing a few billion people with an intense love for cricket, betting on sports is illegal in India. The government has pinned the responsibility onto the individual states when it comes to regulating all forms of gambling.

States such as Goa and Sikkim have legalised both gambling and lotteries and we hope that in the future more states follow suit. Despite arguments against legalising sports betting for moral reasons, legalising the activity will provide two main benefits.

First, it will lead to huge amounts of revenue generation and second it will help curb illegal gambling which in turn funds other illegal activities.

Cricket Betting | A Sport Loved by Billions All Over

While India has achieved success in hockey and kabaddi, cricket is still the biggest sport. The support for the national team has reached an all-time high given their recent performance.

Not only was India successful in winning the world cup but they have also ascended to the top of the test rankings. International matches aside, the country has also expanded its national games starting with the Indian Premier League (IPL).

This equates to a lot of cricket being played which in turn leads to more bets being placed on matches.

Rise of Internet in India

With cities such as Bangalore becoming major IT hubs in the world, internet usage in India has increased dramatically. As of 2018, the number of internet users has grown by a total of 98 million which is far more than any other country.

This coincides with an increase in sale of mobile handsets which are in turn used to access the internet. This makes it particularly handy to follow cricket matches on the go and makes it easy to place bets on them as well. Disposable income has also seen an increase which in turn means that punters have more money to spend on their favourite games.

Online Betting | Untapped Market

With the increase in smartphone penetration, the online gambling market over the last four years has increased by 17% year on year. Experts peg the online gambling market at $150 billion but roughly half of that comes from illegal betting.

International gambling operators such as LeoVegas, Royal Panda and 10Cric have realised the potential of the market and are advertising aggressively to gain market share.

Given the size of the population and the absence of any significant gambling brand a few years ago, more and more companies are leaving Europe to head towards India. The intense love that Indians have for cricket is what fuels the growth for the sports betting market.

Punters simply cannot get enough of the game and now have quite a few choices when it comes to choosing a betting partner.