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Online casinos have been gaining more popularity in India. International casino operators now offer casino games that are from India’s rich gaming culture like Teen Patti and Andar Bahar.
These days, another Indian game is gaining traction on different gambling sites; online Satta. It is a game of chance in the form of betting and lottery. You can see this in different varieties including Satta Matka and Indian Premier League or IPL Satta online, which is cricket betting.
The Popularity of Cricket Satta in India
It’s not surprising that cricket Satta is one of the popular varieties of this game in India. After all, India’s love for cricket simply can’t be matched by any other sport. In 2018, BARC India reported that 93% of Indian sports viewers watch cricket.
MyBetting India also released a report last year which shows that around 80 to 90 per cent of India’s betting population goes for cricket. According to them, around 140 million Indians bet on sports regularly and over 370 million would do so on major sports events like the Cricket World Cup and the IPL.
When it comes to the type of sports or IPL Satta players, the majority are male which accounts for 88.4% of the betting population. Regarding age, 44.6% are 18 to 24 years old and 32.5% are aged 25 to 34 years old.
Interestingly, most of these Satta players are from Telangana (18.7%). Telangana is one of the very few states that don’t allow online betting in any form. This is followed by Karnataka with 13.2% and Maharashtra where online gambling is also banned because of the Bombay Wager Act with 9.6%.
Some of the most popular betting sites in India right now according to MyBetting are Bet365, Betway, and 1xBet. Aside from these sites, IPL Satta is also available on Parimatch, 10CRIC, Comeon, and 22Bet. Some of these sites also offer other types of Satta like the popular Satta Matka based on games like Teen Patti.
While MyBetting released this report with numbers, it clarified that it’s hard to gauge the exact numbers at the moment. This is because many players are still placing their bets underground. They can only also say the estimated value of the local betting industry is around USD 60 billion each year.
Legalities of Online Sports Satta in India
When it comes to the state of Telangana, there is a possibility that the online gaming ban will be lifted. Earlier this year, it was reported that Telangana recognised that the blanket ban may not be effective. Based on MyBetting India’s report, this is true.
Most punters in this state are still placing their bets offshore anyway because no law in India prohibits this. While offshore online betting is safe when done properly, this still has risks as the locals aren’t protected by local laws.
In an All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) forum this year, the Telangana Principal Secretary for IT, Electronics, & Communications, Jayesh Ranjan, spoke about how he already has a draft law that would change the blanket ban in Telangana and he’s only waiting of the right time to present it to the cabinet.
If this pushes through, Telangana will have a gaming committee that will decide on how the local industry will be regulated.
Ranjan said, “We see that the landscape of this online gaming is extremely dynamic. It is extremely complex and the government does not have the capability at all to be the regulator by itself.”
According to him, the government also now sees the gaming industry as a big contributor to the state’s economy that can also provide employment opportunities.
“We know employment opportunities in gaming companies are much more versatile, so even if you don’t have much of a formal education, you still can learn a few applications software, you can find respectable employment,” Ranjan explained.
Aside from Telangana, more states are also looking to draft amendments to their local betting activities. During the same forum, representatives from Meghalaya also shared its recently enacted gambling bill that could help boost its economy.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that such laws make them confident that they can provide an enabling regulatory framework for the state’s gaming activities. According to him, they were already able to issue 3 provisional licenses for those who have already applied to operate in Meghalaya.
(Disclaimer: Gambling is banned in India. The views expressed in the article are the author's alone and do not reflect those of Connected to India. This article is strictly for the purpose of information.)
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