Online Gambling in India Booms Post the Suspension of IPL 2021

Gambling regulation in India is a complicated affair with most of the country banning real money gambling on games of chance. This has left the online slots and other random number generator (RNG) based games out in the cold, while sports betting and some games of skill have gained strong followings.

The crown jewel of India’s legal betting industry is the Indian Premier League (IPL); however, health concerns and legal drama have brought the 2021 season to its knees.

 IPL Season Stumped

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is to India what the NFL season is to Americans. Not only is the IPL their most viewed and voraciously supported sporting event, with many players taking on hero and villain roles more akin to a daytime soap opera, but it is also the sport that underpins their betting industry.

The recent announcement that the 2021 IPL season has been suspended due to ongoing health and safety risks was a massive blow to the country’s online and land-based bookmakers. With the indefinite delay in the cricket tournament and no other notable sporting events on the cards, many smaller bookmakers are in danger of closing their doors.

Land-based bookmakers are facing harsh criticism from both the public and the sports oversight committee over allegations of ‘pitch-siding’ in which two parties were arrested and others are under investigation. Pitch-siding is when bookmakers exploit the delay between action on the pitch and what is broadcast live to gain an unfair advantage on wagers placed on the game.

This added legal drama could see the IPL season delayed beyond the scope of the health concerns, further harming local bookies.

Bowled Over by Live Games

Nature abhors a vacuum and life finds a way to fill empty space with something new and entertaining. In this case the Indian gambling community adopted Live Dealer Casinos as their new preferred gambling pastime.

An expert on gambling in India said:

"We've been receiving a lot of requests lately for recommendations of the best online casinos in India. They have also been asking about which casinos offer live casino games with local Indian funding options."

The correspondent specifically made mention of Casumo casino, Genesis casino and Casino Days, all of whom offer legal live dealer casino games in India with the ability to gambling in Rupees. These casinos are reportedly seeing a massive increase in action from India as result of the IPL suspension and an increased attraction to live dealer gambling.

The reason for this interest in Live Dealer gambling is the fact that it allows the local populace to gamble in a social setting without the dangers posed by exposure to large groups of people as was the concern with betting on live sporting events.

Since Live Dealer casino games see players putting their skills to the test against the croupier and even other players around the table, albeit in a virtual setting, these games are skilled-based and not games of chance.