Betting in India is safe as long as Indian bettors go with reputable online casinos and stay within the limits of the law, which can be a little confusing, but we will do our best to clear some of it up for you.
Indian Gambling Law
When it comes to Indian Gambling law, it must be understood the difference between Federal and provincial (state) law. Federal law applies unless individual states (for example, Goa or Sikkim) have created their own laws legalizing gambling within their jurisdiction.
Also, while India’s Federal gambling laws actually prohibit gambling in most forms; strangely, the horse betting industry is not only legalized and regulated, but also thriving. Although Indian bettors cannot bet on Indian horse racing events online, they can place bets in Tote or with off-course and trackside bookmakers legally and safely.
Indian Federal gambling legislation also makes casino gaming illegal, but casinos are legalized, licensed, taxed, and regulated in the states of Goa and Sikkim, generating plenty of revenue for the respective state governments.
The Goa Public Gambling Act of 1976, which was created to ban all forms of gambling in Goa, was later amended two times to cater to the requirements of the gambling industry. In 1992, five-star hotels in Goa were permitted to introduce slot machine games, and in 1996, cruise ships were permitted to offer table games.
So far, there are no online betting site with servers and offices based in India, unless one wishes to consider Playwin, an Indian online lottery with colossal jackpots, as an online betting site. Indian gaming enthusiasts will not find any 100 percent Indian online casinos, online poker sites, bingo sites, racebook sites, or sportsbook sites. But the good news is that many offshore operators allow Indian bettors to play their favorite games of chance at online gambling sites such as betway.com, RoyalPanda.com and others.
Online Gambling in India
The great news for online gambling enthusiasts in India is that nobody has been prosecuted so far for placing bets online. Indian players have been playing poker games and participate in tournaments at online poker sites, play bingo online and win large jackpots, place bets on their favorite sporting and racing activities worldwide, and much more at online gaming sites based in foreign countries without incident. There is nothing in India’s law books preventing its citizens from spending their money on offshore gambling services.
Indian gambling enthusiasts can place bets online is at www.myplaywin.com, a national lottery game regulated by the state and central government, but it does not offer other online games such as poker, bingo, casino games, sports betting, and others.
Foreign Gambling Sites Accepting Indian Players
There are many offshore online gambling sites that accept Indian players and provide them a safe, secure, and fun online gaming and betting environment. Before registering at any online gaming site, however, Indian players are cautioned to research the site well, read reviews of it online, and discuss the site at reputed gambling forums to find out if it is really authentic. This precaution needs to be taken because there are several rogue sites that are just waiting to separate gullible players from their money. We have done the homework for you, as we recommend only the best sites around.
There is a wide range of betting and gaming opportunities available for Indian players. Sports betting enthusiasts can bet on a wide range of national and international sports events held all over the world. Horse bettors can bet on horse racing events of international repute. Poker players can participate in a wide range of cash games and tournaments featuring all popular variants of poker such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud, to mention just a few. Casino gaming enthusiasts will find no dearth of large jackpot games such as progressive slots, jackpot slots, table and card games, instant win games, and many more at the best online casinos.
Safe Betting Options
A few of the above-mentioned online gambling companies, www.betway.com and www.RoyalPanda.com allow Indian players to deposit and withdraw in rupees.
These online gambling sites offer convenient and reliable banking methods such as credit cards and debit cards, prepaid cards, Neteller, Skrill, PayPal, checks, wire transfer, and others to deposit funds into their online gambling sites. Although the bonuses and jackpots are in dollars, currency conversion happens in a matter of seconds, which makes it really convenient for Indian players.
The simplest way to bet safely online in India is to use credit cards and debit cards; however, Indian players will have to divulge their private financial details at the offshore online casino in order to do so. Most Indian players will be hesitant to do this as the servers and offices of the offshore online casino are not based in their country. If you are an Indian player afraid to use your credit or debit card at an offshore online casino, you can use an alternative payment option such as Skrill, Neteller, or PayPal, all of which have a global presence, are highly reputed, and have excellent customer care services.
Other sites such as www.betfair.com and www.RoyalPanda.com accept Indian players, but they do not accept direct Rupee deposits. We do highly recommend these casinos even if it requires an extra step for depositing. All you need to do is set up an e-Wallet account, which is an online account that you can transfer Rupees to and convert to their accepted currency, usually British Pounds.
Indian players who choose to use their Neteller or Skrill accounts to fund their online casino accounts can first load their respective eWallet account using credit cards or direct bank transfer and then move the funds to their online casino accounts. Winnings can be moved back to one’s Indian bank account in a similar manner. The process is quick, affordable, reliable is safe.
Safe Online Betting
As you see, online betting is very safe for Indian players. Already, there are hundreds and thousands of players placing bets on their favorite games at several offshore gambling sites. Simply have a chat with the customer care service of your online gambling site as well as your bank to identify the best banking method for you.
The next step is to register at a real money casino, fund your account, and get started. Besides playing a wide range of exciting casino games and betting on their favorite sports and racing events, Indian players can collect bonuses, participate in loyalty schemes, and win large jackpots.
