India Casinos

India is emerging on the gambling scene as one of the fastest-growing markets. Unfortunately, the country’s legislators are still somehow perplexed by the iGaming industry’s surge throughout the country. Even though online gambling is still falling into the grey area of the law, a growing number of Indian people are playing at offshore online casinos. This led to the Indian authorities mulling over the legalization of the industry.

According to industry insiders, India is losing about $1.5 billion in revenue because of its incapability to adequately react to the growth of the online gambling market. The surge of the online gambling industry in India is propelled by two factors, namely India’s huge population and the technology advancement. Many operators started to eye the opportunity to set foot on Indian soil and this can be attributed to the great potential of the country’s gambling industry.

With India’s take on gambling regulation, a state-based legal framework has been introduced, allowing each state to regulate the gambling industry within its territory. That said, the only state that has currently legalized some forms of online gaming is Sikkim, which is also the first state to launch a gaming site, licensed by the Sikkim government in 2014. Meanwhile, the state of Nagaland has licensed a few online poker brands as under the Nagaland Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act, poker is considered a game of skill. The state’s regulatory body responsible for the licensing and regulation of these activities is the Finance Commissioner. The lack of any proper regulation in the rest of the country, however, leaves the majority of Indian players no other choice but to resort to offshore online gaming sites.

Popular Online Casinos in India

India is a country with outdated gambling laws that do not respond to the exponential growth of the online gambling industry. Interestingly enough, no piece of legislation discusses the legality of online gambling. In that sense, online gambling is not illegal in India and casino operators are benefitting from this loophole to offer their services to players from India.

A good-enough number of online casinos accept players from India, offering them even the opportunity to make deposits and withdraw funds in their currency – Indian Rupee. When choosing a gambling site, players from India should take several factors into consideration such as reputability, fairness, trustworthiness, bonuses, available banking solutions, and others. In the lines below, we would like to suggest 10 India-friendly tested and proven online casinos.

Legislation

Casino Deposit Methods

Games & Live Dealers

Most Popular UK Casinos

Legislation

The question that intrigues casino enthusiasts is whether online gambling is legal in the country they reside in. When it comes to India, it is hard to give a straightforward answer. As we hinted above, the gambling industry in India is in its infancy, but it is expected to grow at an exponential level in the near future. However, the country’s legislative framework is not mature enough to address this surge. The gambling industry in India is regulated at the national and state levels and the market is governed by three acts which we will discuss in the lines below.

Overview of India’s Gambling Laws

Having in mind the year this piece of legislation was enacted, we can claim that it, most probably, does not refer to Internet gambling. In a nutshell, the Public Gambling Act of 1867 prohibited individuals from running or opening a gambling establishment. The law was amended two times, but it barely can be interpreted with regard to the online gambling industry.

The Prize Competition Act that came into place in 1955 refers to the so-called “prize competitions” which offer prizes that are higher than INR10,000 on a monthly basis. The Information Technology Act of 2000 also does not mention anywhere online gambling, even though it may refer to it as it discusses the transmission of information through electronic means.

Is Online Gambling Legal in India?

Under India’s legislative framework, casino games are considered to be gambling activities and thus, these are prohibited throughout the country. In 2008, the State of Sikkim voted the so-called Sikkim Online Gaming Act allowing its licensees to offer online games within the state’s borders. The authority that oversees the market in Sikkim is the Finance Revenue and Expenditure Department. Under this act, the provision of games such as roulette, casino brag, and blackjack does not violate the law. In addition to that, it is only the State of Sikkim that allows online sports betting.

FAQ

Deposit Methods

When you are looking for a trustworthy casino, do not forget to check the available payment options as some banking methods are geared towards a particular market. What is more, some payment options support only deposits and you will not be able to withdraw funds via that particular banking solution.

Players from India should also keep in mind that some web-based casinos do not offer bonuses to players who decided to top up their gaming account via a digital wallet. Needless to say, not all banking methods are created in the same way, meaning that they feature different fees, processing times, transaction limits, etc. In the lines below we will discuss some of the most popular and preferred payment solutions among Indian casino enthusiasts.

Credit and Debit Cards

Online casino enthusiasts that reside in India will not have a hard time making a deposit or pulling out their earnings in case they would like to use Visa or Mastercard. In fact, almost all gambling sites accept payments via these two bank cards. Deposits are processed on the spot, while withdrawals might take between 2 and 5 (in some cases even 7) business days. What is more, players should keep in mind that the payment service provider might impose a small fee for the transaction.

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets exploded in popularity in recent years and a growing number of casino enthusiasts started embracing the idea of using this payment solution as it is quick, safe, easy-to-use, and the charges are insignificant. Players from India can make deposits and withdraw funds via some of the most reliable digital wallets, and namely Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney, and MuchBetter.

The most widespread digital wallets are Skrill and Neteller, but there is also a good-enough number of gambling sites that adopted Webmoney and MuchBetter. In case you would like to upload funds to your gaming account, you should know that the transaction will be finalized in a blink. What is laudable here is that withdrawals are cleared within 24 hours.

Bank Transfers

Bank transfers are another popular payment method among Indian players. This old-school banking solution still attracts the attention of casino enthusiasts who prefer to avoid online banking. Bank transfers are usually associated with higher deposit and withdrawal limits, longer processing times, and bigger fees. In case you request a cashout via wire transfer, you should know that it might take up to 7 business days for the payment to go through. However, we must note that the wire transfers also come with a range of advantages, including wide acceptance, safety, ability to make large transfers, etc.

Prepaid Cards

Casino enthusiasts who prefer not to transmit their bank details over the Internet are provided with the opportunity to make use of several prepaid cards. Before we continue discussing this payment method, it is important to explain that it supports only deposits, meaning that you are not able to withdraw funds through it.

Undoubtedly, AstroPay and Paysafecard are two of the most well-known prepaid cards that can be bought with Indian rupees. Assuming that you decide to make a deposit via a prepaid card, you should know that your anonymity will remain intact. Furthermore, prepaid cards will help you manage your bankroll easier as the deposit in the card is limited.

Popular Games and Live Dealers

When choosing an online casino, players should be informed that the software providers that power the gambling site’s content are also of crucial importance. We recommend our readers from India to choose web-based casinos that teamed up with reputable casino content developers such as Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, Betsoft, Play’n GO, Yggdrasil, etc.

Apart from great convenience, most online casinos offer an abundant selection of games. Indian casino enthusiasts are provided with the opportunity to add yet another notch to their belts by playing various casino game genres. Technology advancements made it possible for software developers to introduce exciting games that feature crisp graphics and sound effects.

Indian players who enthuse over playing slot games, will certainly not be disappointed with their online gambling experience as most of the web-based casinos focus on this game genre. From 3-reel slot games to more complex slots with 5 reels, more paylines, and symbols, reel spinners will enjoy a fruitful and rewarding gaming experience. Talking about slots, we cannot help but mention that many operators included games with jackpots that climb up over time.

Casino enthusiasts who are craving for authentic casino experience without leaving the comfort of their homes need to try their luck on the games listed under the Live Casino section. Long story in short, live dealer games are designed around the idea to bridge the gap between online and land-based casinos. Thanks to high-resolution web cameras, Indian players can observe every movement of the dealer who is running the game. Some of the most sought-after live dealer games include blackjack, roulette, and poker.

Blackjack

Roulette

Baccarat

Slots

Poker

Video Poker

Craps

Deposit Methods