Bet on it? – The Rise of Sports Betting in India

IPL 2022 had several ads with star names like Shubman Gill, and Sunil Narine endorsing online sports betting apps. So, is sports betting legal in India? Is it a legitimate business? Find out more as we peek inside this conspicuously thriving industry.

Before we start off, here’s a disclaimer – online sports betting is an addictive game; please exercise caution and get full disclosure about what can happen to your money before indulging.

Does the word betting bring to your mind the image of a few old folks in a dingy room, putting piles of cash behind intuition and luck? Not sure about you, but the folks from 1867 definitely felt that way. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prohibits anyone from running or being in charge of a public gambling house.

However, this law only applies to games of chance, and according to the Supreme Court of India, games like rummy and poker need skill and acumen; they’re not entirely up to chance.

And on that technicality, thrives the online sports betting goldrush.

The global sports betting industry was worth USD 57.54 billion in 2021, and it is predicted to increase at a CAGR of ~10% from 2020 to 2025. Sports betting generated $57.22 billion in handle and $4.29 billion in revenue, in 2021 — jumps of 165% and 177% over 2020 respectively.

The legal sports betting industry in India is estimated to be worth over $2 billion and is projected to be worth over $112 billion in the next four years.

Estimates and reports from these gaming forums suggest that more than 140 million people in India play these online games regularly, pushing the number up to 370 million during IPL season and the likes.

The overall online betting market in India is growing at a rapid rate of 20% per year, and most of this growth is in the space of cricket. The cricket betting market is gonna continue to grow rapidly over the next 5-10 years.

So, what’s driving this industry?

India is one of the leading contributors to this industry, globally. The pandemic saw several Indians turning to their mobile phones to pass time, and data suggest that about 40% of the population with access to the internet, visit an online betting site at least once.

Also, India is obsessed with cricket and with the advent of online betting, this space is seeing more regulations come its way, making the illegal aspects less and less relevant.

Here is how the industry looks for the APAC region –

What’s the future like?

With the amount of free-flowing moey in this space, looks like online sports betting might be here to stay. IPL saw multiple betting companies run ads and promote their products. This only goes on to show how confident these companies are in their business.

Moreover, the number of people playing online betting games and their love and craze for cricket are only going to drive this industry forward in India.

And while certain regulations are already in place for companies operating in this space, more are expected to come in, as this industry spreads its wings in India like wildfire.

Markets Last Week

Nifty 50 16,352.45 0.53% ▲

Sensex 54,884.66 1.03% ▲

Nifty500 13,873.15 0.16% ▼

Bank Nifty 35,613.30 3.90% ▲

Retails Investors Making India Atmanirbhar?

Well, the data suggests… pic.twitter.com/YIC4WMe4um

— smallcase (@smallcaseHQ) May 25, 2022

This week, we’ve been…

Reading Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke – Poker star turned business consultant Annie Duke gives us a picture of how to make decisions when shrouded in uncertainties. A compelling read from start to finish, Duke brings her expertise in poker to manoeuvre a world that is also almost a game of chance.

Listening to Cricket… Only Bettor by Ed Hawkins and Sam Collins – The Betfair Betting Podcast comes up with Cricket… Only Bettor every Tuesday. It gives an insight into the world of betting in cricket and discusses the odds of matches being played. It also has other sports like racing, football, NFL, on other days of the week.

Tweet of the Week

Buying the dip x Panchayat🤝🏻 🧵

You: pic.twitter.com/lgJiDkXbbL

— smallcase (@smallcaseHQ) May 29, 2022

From Diwali parties to cricket, betting was always an integral part of human society. Excited to see it become a regulated industry? Reply to this mail and tell us!

Until next week, stay hydrated and invested!

Deblina

Senior Marketing Associate by day; obsessive organiser by night. Stories and cats shall take over the world. 🏳️‍🌈