Casino In India Legal
Whether you are a beginner in the world of casinos or just someone fascinated with online gaming, indeed, this question has run through your mind before – Are online casinos legal in India?
However, there is no mention of the online casino or any online gambling activity for that matter. This loophole is a ray of hope to millions of aspiring gambling as it indicates that online casinos are not illegal. Since online gambling isn't prohibited, it is safe to say that online casinos are legal in India on a federal level. With the prevalence of the internet, the governing bodies could have amended the law, but they. Answer: Yes, online betting is legal in India. There are no federal laws against online betting in India. Each state may decide if they want to impose laws on online betting. And so far, only a few states in India have made laws against online betting. The last of the Indian gambling laws at the federal level is the Information Technology Act of 2000. It is a broad law that applies to almost any type of online activity. There is nothing in the Information Technology Act that implies that online gambling in India is illegal. In fact, the law does not even mention gambling in particular. Currently, the only legal forms of gambling in India are state-run lotteries (in some states only), horse racing, rummy card games, and casinos (in two states). Lotteries are legal in 12 states and five union territories, but are banned in 17 states. Many Indians also gamble at festival fairs, as they offer a range of legal and illegal gambling.
We often indulge in some form of gambling as a recreational activity, for example, getting together with friends or family to enjoy a game of cards. In fact, the festival of Diwali is celebrated by playing card games with family and friends. We all have our favorites – Satte Pe Satta, Teen Patti, Bluff, Dehla Pakad, Rummy, and so many others. But gambling on online platforms is a totally different scenario.
The operator which offers gambling as a service and the customers who take part by playing on such platforms must be aware of what the Indian law says about online gambling.
So if you want to know whether or not online gambling is legal in India, here’s the full explanation for it.
Is Online Gambling Considered Legal in India?
The answer to this question is not all that straightforward because Indian gambling laws are not clearly defined for the online domain. Let’s look at the dynamics of whether online casinos are legal in India, starting with the different rules and acts enforced by the Government of India.
First, the Public Gambling Act of 1857 prohibits individuals and organizations in India from owning or operating any public gaming unit. So as per this act, a person or company based in India cannot offer any gambling services to the general public in any form whatsoever, which applies to both online and offline platforms. As such, there are no online gambling sites that are based in India.
But later on, the Lotteries Act of 1998 allowed Indian states to operate and run lotteries. Furthermore, the authority to decide the legality of gambling activities has been granted to the state government, so each state can make its own rules for allowing or forbidding any gambling activity. As of yet, Sikkim and Goa are two states that have legalized gambling, and these are the only two states in India where you can find brick and mortar casinos.
But now let’s come to the main question – what is the legal status of online gambling in particular? The law has clearly stated that all forms of gambling are illegal and prohibited in India. But when a foreign-based gambling site accepts customers from India, the government cannot hold them accountable as per Indian laws. As long as the operator is based in a country where gambling is legal and properly licensed, they cannot be subjected to Indian regulations.
And India’s gambling law also doesn’t mention anything about Indian citizens playing on such gambling sites based out of the country. So it’s not possible to penalize players for playing on foreign casino sites. These loopholes and discrepancies in Indian laws, especially when it comes to online forms of gambling, make it possible for Indians to play on gambling sites without being subjected to any legal action. There is no reason to worry if you want to register and play at online casinos in India.
How Do I Deposit and Withdraw Indian Rupees with Online Casinos?
Online casinos have improved their payment systems for Indian players, and there are many options available for deposits and withdrawals these days. The most common payment methods are credit and debit cards and bank transfers. However, you also need to check if your bank accepts transactions to casino sites when you’re opting for card payment or bank transfer. You will be relieved to know that many casino sites accept payments from some well-known Indian banks.
In recent years, casinos have also integrated UPI payments and Indian e-wallets like Paytm and PhonePe as supported payment methods on their platform. These options are not available in all casinos. Still, more casino sites are slowly starting to include UPI and e-wallets, so finding such a site should not be too hard, and it will be even easier if you just check out our list of top online casinos in India.
But remember that not all casinos that accept Indian players support Indian currencies as well. If you want to make deposits and withdrawals in Indian Rupees, then you need to go to a casino where Indian currency is supported. Fortunately, due to the growing popularity of gambling sites among Indian players, you will find quite a handful of casinos that support Indian currency and offer convenient payment methods like credit/debit cards, bank transfer, net banking, and UPI, and e-wallets. It has become much easier to make deposits and withdrawals in Indian currency these days.
Which Are the Best Casinos in India? What Games Can I Play in Indian Online Casinos?
While there are numerous online casinos in India, the ones that have built a good reputation and user base are Royal Panda, Betway, LeoVegas India, and a few others reviewed on our website. These casinos offer all the games and accept various methods of deposit for INR.
Some of the popular games available across new sites are Live Blackjack, Live Dealer Roulette, and a score of Live Poker games such as Three Card, Texas Hold ‘Em, Stud Poker, among many others.
What Bonuses Do Indian Online Casinos Offer?
There are many types of bonuses offered by Indian sites, such as first deposit bonus, free spins bonus, no deposit bonus, and reload bonus. The amount of bonus funds you get from such offers are decided independently by each casino site. The most common type of offer is a 100% deposit match bonus, but some casinos raise the bar higher with 150% or even 200% match bonuses. When claiming casino bonuses, ensure that you check all the terms and conditions in detail, such as minimum deposit required, maximum bonus amount, wagering requirements, expiry dates, etc.
The legality of betting and gambling has been a subject of extensive debate over the course of many years. Although in India playing of cards and rolling of dice has been in existence since time immemorial, yet, one often comes across the debates on gambling on both legal and ethical fronts. While one section seeks to legalize gambling because of the revenue it might generate for the government, the other section has been reluctant to do so owing to issues like corruption and money laundering that might germinate from it.
While the Law Commission of India, in 2018, in its report on Legalizing of Betting and Gambling in Sports recommended for regulating the gambling industry, no substantial progress has been made in this direction. The commission opined that the inability of the state to completely ban the betting and gambling has lead to corruption in sports which could be resolved if the industry is adequately regulated. This would also lead to generation of revenue to the government.
The Law Commission rightly noted that the ban is not absolute and the industry is highly unregulated. This observation stems from the fact that India has legislations relating to regulation of gambling both at central and state level, which adds to the already existing conundrum. Additionally, the legislations in place often pre-date technological advances and therefore fail to address the recent emergence of online gambling.
Legal Casino States
The legislation in place, the Public Gaming Act of 1867, is a federal legislation which outlaws the operation or being the person in-charge of a public gaming house. It states that it is illegal to operate a public gaming house and also prohibits people from visiting gambling houses. The contravention of this law attracts a fine of Rupees 200 or imprisonment upto 3 months. However, the Act is archaic and does not specifically address the aspect of online gambling. The Act itself predates the recent advancements in technology and fails to address online gambling. Due to this fact, millions of people in India indulge in online gambling on sports and casinos.
Another legislation, the Information Technology Act, 2000 regulates cyber activities in India but does not address legality of gambling or betting. The Act does not specifically address online gaming or gambling thereby making no impact on legal position of online gambling.
Further Entry No.34 of List II of the Constitution of India, 1950 empowers the states to make laws on betting and gambling. Due to this entry, many states in India have their own legislations dealing with gambling and are subject to different interpretations. For example, Bombay Wager Act bans online gambling in the state of Maharashtra and Delhi Public Gambling Act, 1955 bans gambling in the union territory of Delhi but makes an exception for ‘game of skill’. However, the states of Goa and Sikkim are the only states that have legalized gambling with appropriate licensing requirements and at restricted places. The Goa Gambling Act, 1976 allows playing of cards at off-shore vessel. Sikkim is the only state to have a law on online gaming which is the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2008. The Act however was later amended to restrict online gaming activities to physical gaming parlours in Sikkim through the internet.
Are There Casinos In India
In recent past, we have seen mushrooming of online gambling games such as Rummy, Casino etc. where millions of people rush to test their fate. Since, the law does not adequately address the legality of online gambling, this remains a grey area which requires intervention on part of either legislature or judiciary. While in several Supreme Court decisions Rummy has not been held to be gambling, the clarity is still required when it comes to online casinos.
Online Casino In India
Rummy has been held to be a game of skill similar to horse racing and is therefore legal in India. However, games like Casinos are a game of chance involving high monetary stakes which amounts to gambling as per Public Gaming Act of 1867. This inference is not difficult to draw as the issue that courts consider while deciding on gambling is whether a particular game is a ‘game of skill’ or a ‘game of chance’. Because of this uncertainty there is no organization that operates the online casino in India. So whether online Casinos are legal in India is the question that has a negative answer. However, indulging in online Casino games would not be considered to be illegal if the site is outside the jurisdiction of India. Due to the fact that the laws of India are not applicable to an overseas organization or gaming site, we continue to see an upsurge in the number of people engaging in this activity. Perhaps, the time is ripe for the Indian legislature and judiciary to end this conundrum and regulate the laws relating to online gambling.