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. To stop the flow of blackmoney by Havala racket. In long India Gambling Laws While the debate about what gambling is legal and what isn’t continues among gambling experts, in India courts, and between States and the Central government. In India, the online gaming law is at a very nascent stage and is being administered by the available, if any, local laws. The online gaming involving stakes is neither per se prohibited in India. In India, gambling is defined as an activity where you face the risk of losing or win money. The act states that the laws don’t apply to skill games. For example, horse betting is legal on the state level in India. For a country as vast as India and 29 independent states, one can only imagine the variety of gambling laws. Legal Casino Gambling in Goa The act which governs gambling in Goa is the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gaming Act, 1976 to legitimize certain forms of gambling. The important section from the act is.

1. Legal Gambling Age In Indiana
2. Legal Gambling Forum In India

The world is swiftly moving towards a more liberal viewpoint towards games of ‘skill’; Indian gambling and online gaming laws are either archaic or non-existent. The current government hasn’t put forth any dedicated gambling laws in India, and this century has hardly seen any techno-legal framework being formed.

While the age-old debate about what form of gambling is legal or not continues; it’s pretty evident that Indians love to gamble. According to a report published by the International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS), the betting market in India might be worth over US$130 billion. When you’ve finished reading up on the gambling laws in India – place a bet at any of the bookmakers listed below!

In this article, we’ll clarify the latest stance of the legislative authorities on betting and gambling laws. We’ll answer the following questions:

Is gambling legal in India?

It’s a tough question to answer. The Indian government’s outlook towards gambling and betting remains in a grey area. A few sports revel in complete approval from the authorities while other (though sharing the exact same characteristics) are completely shunned.

Horse racing and rummy are considered games of skill and thus free to bet on, while cricket and poker don’t share the same distinction in the eyes of Indian lawmakers.

Poker is a major grey area in Indian law. It’s quite interesting that games such as Teen Patti (flush) and Texas Hold ’em are banned while Rummy is allowed. Perhaps even more interesting – horse racing (one of the easiest games to fix) is legal to wager on based it is a skill game, yet cricket betting which requires the same sort of skill set is banned?!!

Gone are the days of matka gambling and the likes in India. Nowadays, you can only bet on a few sports/games, that too in particular states. Currently, horse racing, online poker, online rummy, lottery, and a few casinos are legal in India. To understand the convoluted stance of each state on the legality of these sports will take time and patience for the reader. Let’s try to address all of these issues today.

Why are there different state gambling laws in India?

If you notice, different states have different gambling laws even though there are centralized Acts in place. So, why do gambling/betting laws differ in different states?

The answer is the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India which explicitly gives states the right to legislate and make policies related to “gambling and betting”. It is quite clear in the Seventh Schedule Entry 34 List II which says states could legalize gambling should they choose to do so.

Every state government is free to enact as well as legislate gambling laws as per their discretion. Also, the Central Government cannot intervene in any of the state proceedings.

To date, most Indian states have only made laws against gambling, while 13 states have legalized lottery, and two states (Goa and Sikkim) have legalized many other forms of gambling. With a country as diverse as India and 29 separate states, you can only imagine the variance in gambling laws.

Let’s look at a few state examples:

Legal Casino Gambling in Goa

Goa has made two amendments to the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976 to legalize certain forms of gambling. The relevant section from that act is listed below:

26[13A. Authorised Game.– (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Government may authorised any game of electronic amusement/slot machines in Five Star Hotels 27 {and such table games and gaming on board in vessels offshore as may be notified} subject to such conditions, including payment of such recurring and non-recurring fees, as may be prescribed.

27 Inserted by the Amendment Act 13 of 1996.

As of October 2011, there are seven land-based casinos and several offshore casinos that operate legally in Goa.

Legal Gambling in Sikkim

Sikkim is a second Indian State that has legalized gambling.

1) The Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax Rules), 2002 gives the Sikkim Government the authority to grant licenses to individual and business interested in operating casinos.

2) The Sikkim Regulation of Gambling (Amendment) Act, 2005 gives the Sikkim Government the authority to authorize gambling on certain days and to make specific gambling houses legal at their own discretion by way of a license.

Sikkim also became the first Indian State to legalize internet gambling.

The state of Sikkim has begun taking applications to license online gambling where the servers are located within the state. This includes casino gambling, lottery, and sports betting.

Many believe that once these licensed sports betting sites come online that players located in states where there are no gambling laws will be able to use them legally. This has caused popular online gambling sites such as William Hill and Betfair to eye India as the next major market to expand to.

This, however, has a major challenge – foreign investments involving gambling are illegal under Indian law.

Gambling Laws and Betting Acts in India

Despite gambling being in a grey area in India, there are many legislations in place. We will look closely at the important ones. The following are a few examples:

• The Public Gambling Act, 1867
• Payment and Settlement Act, 2007
• Assam Gaming and Betting Act, 1970
• Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887
• Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976
• Karnataka Police Act, 1963
• Madhya Pradesh (C.P.) Public Gambling Act,1867
• Madhya Bharat Gambling Act, 1949
• Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act, 1955
• Public Gambling Act, 1867 Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule, List II, Entry No. 34
• Punjab Public Gambling Act, 1867
• Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2008
• Tamil Nadu City Police Gaming Rules, 1949
• Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, 1930
• The Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act, 1974
• The Andhra Pradesh Gaming Rules, 1976
• The Delhi Public Gambling Act, 1955
• The J. & K. Public Gambling Act, 1977
• The Kerala Gambling Act, 1960
• The Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970
• The Pondicherry Gaming Act, 1965
• The Rajasthan Public Gambling Ordinance, 1949
• The West Bengal Gambling and Prize Competitions Act, 1957
• The West Bengal Gambling Rules, 1958
• Uttar Pradesh Public Gambling Act,1961

The Public Gambling Act, 1867

The primary legislative document that makes gambling in India a ‘grey’ legality is the Public Gambling Act. This is an old law created during British rule. This 145-year-old law makes operating a gambling house, assisting in the operation of a gambling house, visiting a gambling house (whether gambling or not), financing gambling and being in possession of gambling devices a crime. The penalty is a fine not exceeding 200 rupees or up to three months in prison.

The Public Gambling Act explicitly states “nothing in this Act shall apply to games of mere skill wherever played” which means, in absence of other laws against them, wagering on games of skill is legal. The competitions where success depends on a substantial degree of skill are not “gambling” and despite there being an element of chance if a game is preponderantly a game of skill it would nevertheless be a game of “mere skill”.

Payment and Settlement Act, 2007

Madame President Patil signed the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 on 20th December 2007 and it went into effect on 12th August 2008. This act gives authority to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate all forms of electronic payment. Section 4 is key which in part states:

Payment system not to operate without authorization: (1) No person, other than the Reserve Bank, shall commence or operate a payment system except under and in accordance with an authorization issued by the Reserve Bank under the provisions of this Act:

The act goes on to say any payment system or clearing house with less than 51% of the equity held by an Indian bank requires authorization to operate in India. Much the rest of this 14-page Act, gives RBI all sorts of authority over all aspects of payment processing in India, as well as the rights to enter and inspect with or without notice and access to all financial and customer data upon request.

The most important factor here is RBI has the right to make policies almost on demand (in concordance with this Act) for all things involving payment processing. They have exercised this authority numerous times. This is what caused the PayPal in India fiasco, and also what caused Neteller to stop issuing Neteller plus cards, and EntroPay to stop issuing Plastic MasterCard branded debit cards. So, in short, RBI has the full right to instruct banks to decline or refuse and payments or deposits involving any particular payment processor, e-wallet or clearing house. While they seem more concerned with going after businesses and freelancers who might be evading tax, should they in the future decide to go after gambling processors, the legal framework and authority for them to do so already exists? Again, to be clear, at the current time this does not seem to be a priority for them.

Information Technology Act, 2000

On 14 April 2011, the Gazette of India published the Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011. This legal document is issued under authority granted in Information Technology Act, 2000. In short, this act instructs Internet Service Providers and Website Hosts, to block access to certain types of websites and content. While the majority of this is for areas of National Security, things that would shine India in an improper light, things that are blasphemous, illegal, pornographic etc., Section 2 item B includes anything “relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling”.

The addition of gambling to the IT Act of 2000 is in conflict where much the rest of India is headed. Again, the Sikkim Government has legalized sports betting and casino gambling, Goa has legal casinos, and 13 states have legalized lottery. Even Mr. Haroon Lorgat, the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has urged Indian officials to make cricket betting sites legal, as he feels this is the best way to prevent corruption and match-fixing in the sport. So while the push for legal gambling in India is strong and has made some progress, the Central Government is still taking action in an attempt to make it more difficult.

At the current time – most gambling in India is illegal. However, legal gambling does exist for horse racing, lottery, and rummy (paplu). There is also a high number of betting sites legal in the UK which service Indian players with only minor hassles. The law at this time seems more concerned with scaring Indian players not to gamble than it does to prevent it. It seems highly likely fully legal gambling will come to India at some point – how far away that is, is anyone’s guess.

Gambling Laws in India make Skilled Games Legal

Although a good percentage is wagered legally on horse racing and lottery, a large amount is wagered on cricket and other sports via illegal and “technically illegal” channels. In this article, I’ll tackle the complex Indian gambling laws, including what forms of gambling are prohibited, which are explicitly allowed, and what grey areas still exist.

Is Betting On Rummy Legal in India?

In 1968 Rummy (also known as Paplu) was determined to be a skill game:

“Rummy, on the other hand, requires a certain amount of skill because the fall of the cards has to be memorized and the building up of Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards. We cannot, therefore, say that the game of Rummy is a game of entire chance. It is mainly and preponderantly a game of skill. The chance in Rummy is of the same character as the chance in a deal at a game of bridge.”

Is Lottery Legal According to the Gambling Laws in India?

The Central Lotteries (Regulation) Act of 1998 gave state governments the authority to hold lotteries but stipulated this was restricted to a maximum of one draw per week. Today in most Indian states there are lottery terminals excessively available and some lotteries are drawn every 15 minutes.

Also, Sikkim licensed PlayWin Lotto is highly popular and Indians from any state can purchase tickets online, or via terminal. The reason the one draw per week is not followed is because most states believe fully, they already had the right to create their own laws for all forms of gambling and didn’t need the Central Lotteries Act to do so. This is a right given to them by the Constitution of India. What is interesting is that Satta Matka gambling, which is a simple form of lottery, is strictly forbidden.

Is Online Cricket Betting Legal in India?

There are no gambling laws in India that strictly prohibiting Indians from betting on cricket, but the federal government does not see betting on the sport as a game of skill like horse racing. IPL and cricket satta has irony written all over it, as far as gambling is concerned.

According to a report by the All India Gaming Federation, the Indian exchequer loses almost INR 2 Lakh Crore each year due to illegal betting on cricket. About 50 million USD is wagered on every IPL betting match by Indian online bettors, according to industry estimations.

Cricket gambling laws in India – key events

After the 2013 match-fixing scandal in IPL, the Lodha commission was appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the matter of legalization of cricket betting. In July 2015, the Patiala High Court discharged all 36 people accused in the Spot-fixing scandal. Judge Neena Badal adjudged that cricket betting is not illegal and therefore no action can be taken for betting on cricket matches.

In August 2017, the Delhi Police filed an appeal against the discharge order. Also, in 2016, an order passed by a division bench of the Supreme Court recommended: “recommendation of legalizing betting involves the enactment of a law that may be examined by the Law Commission and the Government for such action that it deems fit”.

In June 2018, the law commission submitted a recommendation to the government favouring the legalization of betting in India under stringent control to curb money laundering. The Commission inferred that since it’s almost impossible to completely ban cricket betting in India; regulating cricket betting and gambling under stringent laws is the correct course of action.

The law commission suggested that as per Articles 249 or 252 of the constitution, the government has the power to formulate laws for regulating gambling. In case the legislation is made under Article 252, non-consenting states would be free to adopt them as well. This would help the states work around years of red tape.

Though we get a sense that India is moving towards legalization of cricket betting, it still remains to be seen when exactly the government takes a concrete decision!

Is Betting on Horse Racing Legal in India?

Horse racing and gambling go hand-in-hand in India. It is one of the few sports in which gambling has been legalized and there are clear-cut laws in place. Many times, the legality of horse race gambling has been challenged in the courts as well the Supreme Court.

As discussed in earlier sections, states have the option of enacting the Central Public Gaming Act of 1867 or ratify their own Gaming Acts and statutes.

Provisions in State Gaming Acts

Currently, there are eight state legislations which have enacted specific statutes on the legalization of horse racing betting. The states of Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Meghalaya have passed rulings allowing betting on horses in licensed race courses.

Bombay Race Courses Licensing Act, 1912 (Maharashtra) and West Bengal Gambling Rules, 1958 (West Bengal) are examples of state-implemented Acts which have provisions for betting on horse racing.

Supreme Court Rulings on Horse Racing Betting

In the landmark case of Dr. KR Lakshmanan v. State of Tamil Nadu, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled favourably on the legality of betting in horse racing.

In this important ruling, the Supreme Court explicitly ruled that horse racing is a game of skill and not chance; therefore, it’s legal to bet on horse racing. Sadly, though this ruling by the apex court of India is excellent news for horse racing; at the same time, there is a gamut of sports like poker, cricket, fantasy sports, blackjack and rummy which deserve a similar ruling based on their preponderance to skill than luck.

Regulatory Authorities on horse racing in India

In India, the primary authority of horse racing is the Turf Authority of India. A few race courses are separate entities which have their own governing bodies and membership criteria. Following are the names of different race courses in India:

1. Delhi Race Club in Delhi
2. Mysore Race Club in Mysore
3. Royal Calcutta Turf Club in Kolkatta
4. Royal Western India Turf Club racing in Mumbai and Pune
5. Madras Race Club racing in Chennai
6. Bangalore Turf Club Ltd in Bengaluru
7. Hyderabad Turf Club in Hyderabad

Major Races in India

In India, there are primarily five ‘Classic’ races which take place. The Indian 1000 and 2000 Guineas, the Indian Oaks, the Indian Derby, the Indian St. Leger and the Bangalore Derby. There’s also the Invitation cup which rotates between the various turf authorities and includes races like Sprinter, Stayer and Super mile.

Taxation Policy of Horse racing

Given the popularity of horse racing in India and the legal clarity on horse racing betting; the government created provisions for income generated from horse races in the Income Tax Act of 1961.

According to Section 115BB of the Income Tax Act 1961, flat 30% tax would be charged on winnings from all forms of betting, horse racing, lotteries, and all other wagering activities.

Further, as per Section 194BB of the Income Tax Act 1961, all licensed bookmakers in registered race courses are stipulated to deduct 30% tax at source on any winnings above INR 5,000.

As a society, India prohibits/criminalizes most forms of gambling and considers it immoral. However, we can see that the government’s outlook towards horse racing is quite clear. Betting on horse races as well as lotteries is by-and-large legal in India. Many state legislations have banned horse racing and lottery altogether; however, there are states which have licensed race courses and bookmakers. Also, there are some race courses which even permit remote betting!

International Gaming Sites used by Indian Players

Internet gambling is a truly global business. Although the Central Government has no jurisdiction over UK licensed bookmakers who operate legally under European and International Law, they have taken some action to make using these sites more difficult. This comes in the form of two laws, neither of which has been highly effective.

For example, Betway is a Malta-based company, but they have customers globally. Their betting site is available in several languages and currencies (including Indian Rupee – INR). As far as international sites are concerned, Indian laws don’t apply to them directly as they operate under a legal gambling license in other jurisdictions. With no servers, advertising or anything else going on in India, the authorities can’t do much to stop them from servicing Indian customers. This makes it easy for Indians to use an e-wallet and bet on matches including IPL cricket at sites such as Betway and 10Cric.

Translation: भारतीय द्युत कानून

Related:Laws in the UAE

The general consensus by millions of Indians is that gambling is banned throughout the country. If you ask them to share information about the gambling laws and regulations in India, they will not be in a position to do so because a lot of them don’t know where to find information relating to gambling laws and regulations.

Some of them know where to look but find it too time-consuming and confusing to read legal jargon and interpret what it means for them. Thus they are content to accept the general consensus that gambling is banned in India and any form of gambling that takes place is illegal gambling.

BettingGuru wanted to bring more light to gambling laws and regulations in India, so our team of experts has researched and studied Indian gambling laws and simplified them into modern day language that makes it easy for everybody to understand them clearly.

Current State Of Gambling Legislation in India

The current state of gambling legislation in India is archaic to say the least. Gambling legislation is outdated in India and is in urgent need of an overhaul. The reason most Indians believe that gambling is illegal in India is because you will not find any casinos or gambling houses in the country with the exception of three states.

Goa, Sikkim and Daman are the three states in India to have a legalized casino industry. Sikkim and Daman are very small states and the average Indian on the street may not even list them as states.

Goa on the other hand is one of the most popular states in India and has a thriving land based and offshore casino industry. However, the state government is Goa has been under pressure for the last few years to shut down the gambling industry and recently yielded to some of that pressure by not allowing locals to enter these casinos from Feb 2020.

The Indian gambling industry is governed by The Public Gambling Act of 1867 and pro-gambling groups are pushing for legislators to change this law. The Information Technology Act 2000 regulates online websites in India but does not specifically use the word gambling or betting in its list of prohibited sites.

The Public Gambling Act of 1867

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prevents casinos and gambling houses from operating in India. If a company or a business if found violating this law, they will be subject to a fine of ₹200 or go to prison for a period of 3 months.

The law is also applicable to players who visit these illegal gambling establishments. If they are found inside these illegal establishments, they will be subject to a fine of ₹100 or face prison for a period of 1 month.

Gambling advocates have tried for years to get the central government to review the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and amend it so that it is appropriate for the times that we now live in. However, legislators have been reluctant to review this gambling act and make changes for a number of reasons.

The most sensitive reason for not meddling with the Public Gambling Act of 1867 is because gambling is considered taboo in India and offensive to multiple religions. Since India is a very religious nation, the ruling party wants to make sure that it does not offend the religious feelings of millions of Indians as it could end up hurting their vote bank.

Some of the other reasons for sticking with the Public Gambling Act of 1867 include considering gambling a social evil and forbidding players to engage with games of chance.

Games of Skill vs. Games of Chance

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prohibits games of chance from taking place because games of chance are based on luck. Games of skill, on the other hand, are allowed as these are based on the mental faculties and physical abilities of the players involved.

So a game of cricket can take place in front of thousands of cricket fans and be broadcasted to millions at home because it is ruled a game of skill. A game of rummy or poker on the other hand cannot be played for money as the law considers card games as games of chance i.e. based purely on luck.

During the last few years, there has been a special push by a number of groups like the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) to educate legislators on the differences between games of skill and games of chance. The game of poker has been used as an example to prove that it is a mind sport just like the game of chess.

While the campaign to push for certain games like poker to be reclassified as a game of skill has gained momentum, it has not brought about any results. Legislators are more open to the possibility today but are hesitant to pull the trigger and legalize gambling due to a potential backlash.

State Legislation

While the Public Gambling Act of 1867 governs gambling throughout the country, each state has the authority to form their own legislation and legalize gambling. This is why Goa, Daman and Sikkim have a legalized gambling market.

There are a number of states including Mumbai and Kerala who are considering legalize gambling in their respective states. State governments have realized that legalizing gambling would create a very lucrative industry as it would generate employment opportunities, bring in huge financial investment, increase tourism numbers and provide a steady stream of gambling taxes for the state coffers.

Nagaland, a small state in the north-east of India decided that it would pass a new law that would allow online games to be legalized. Bettors are allowed to place bets on online casino games as long as they fall under the category of games of skills. The Nagaland Prohibition of Gaming and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act, 2016 (Gaming Act) updated the terms and conditions for games of skill and games of chance – thereby opening a new stream of revenue in the state.

For land based or online gambling to spread throughout India, it will require one of the four big states to make a decision and pave the way for the rest of India. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have toyed with the idea but have put it on the back burner for now.

Online Gambling

Since land based gambling is banned throughout India with a few exceptions, most Indians automatically assume that online gambling is also banned. This is not true and in effect, the online gambling industry in India is growing at a rapid pace with every passing year. There are a number of offshore iGaming operators who have entered the Indian market and are offering a variety of online betting services which include online casino games, lottery games, sports betting, e-sports, daily fantasy sports and live dealer casino games.

The key point is, that it is not illegal to register and place bets at these online gaming websites as long as they are not based in India. Just remember that there are a lot of good online casinos out there but there are a lot of bad casinos out there as well. By bad, we mean unscrupulous casinos that prey on players and take advantage of them.

BettingGuru has a great list of online casino websites that are safe for Indian players. Our team has reviewed these sites and use strict selection criteria to ensure that we offer safe and secure online casino recommendations to our Indian players.

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The Information Technology Act, 2000

The Information Technology Act 2000 is a central act that governs all online activities in India. The Act does not specifically use the word gambling or betting and hence a number of iGaming providers have entered the market due to the language used in the Act. The language allows both pro-gambling and anti-gambling groups to interpret this law based on their own assumptions.

The Supreme Court was approached to make a decision and bring clarity to the language used in the ACT but the Court decided to pass on the matter. So the decision is now left to individual states to determine whether they want to allow online casino games and betting or not.

The state of Maharashtra took the decision to pass its own gambling legislation to clear things up. The “Bombay Wager Act” was passed and it specifically stated that online gambling is an offense in the state.

If a company is caught offering online gambling services in India, they will slapped with a fine of 90,000 rupees. This rule has been in place since 2009.

Offshore Gaming Sites Flourishing

There are a number of reputed and licensed online gambling sites currently catering to the Indian market. BettingGuru features the best of these online casino sites as they are legal and safe for Indian bettors to play at. This is because we list only offshore casino sites as they are not based in India. We look for offshore casinos and sportsbooks that are licensed by reputed regulators like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority.

You will not find any online casinos or sportsbooks licensed by an Indian gaming regulator as none exists. If you find a site claiming to be licensed by an Indian gaming regulator, you need to be careful as it is a false claim.

Legal Gambling Forum In India

BettingGuru’s list of recommend online casinos allows Indian bettors to make their deposits and withdrawals in Indian rupees (INR) in keeping with the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. This ensures that players do not violate any laws either on the gaming front or the foreign currency front.

The Legal Status For Games Like Poker And Rummy

Since each individual state has the option to legalize or ban land based and online gambling, there is some confusion as to what games are allowed and which states allow them. Some of the common questions of Indian players include: is rummy legal in India, is cricket betting legal in India, is poker legal in India, is sports betting legal in India and are online casino games legal in India.

We decided to put together a quick overview to help you understand what games you can play and in which states you can play them:

• Casino games are allowed in Goa, Daman, Sikkim
• Poker is permitted in Karnataka, West Bengal, Nagaland
• Fantasy sports betting is permitted in most states as they are viewed as games of skill
• Lottery is banned in most states but a few states have a state wide lottery such as Sikkim. Punjab has a licensed online lottery.

Online casino games and online sports betting are permitted as long as players are betting at offshore casinos who allow players to deposit and withdraw funds in Indian rupees.

Frequently Asked Questions

• The Information Technology Act 2000 does not have the words gambling or betting included when it comes to prohibiting internet activities. Hence, offshore casinos have used this ambiguous language to launch online casino and sports betting services for the Indian market. Players who bet at these offshore casinos are not breaking the law or committing a crime.

• There is a huge push at state level and central level to get legislators to rethink archaic laws such as the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and the Information Technology Act 2000. Gambling advocates are pushing for both land based and online gambling to be legalized. The latest push came from MP Shashi Tharoor in 2018 when he introduced the Sports (Online Gaming & Prevention of Fraud) Bill, 2018 to the Lok Sabha.

• You do not need to pay any taxes to the online casino or sportsbook. However, you will have to pay taxes on your income and it will be up to you to declare and file your taxes accordingly. Do note that some payment providers like PayPal will be without a GST fee when doing your transfer.

• Gambling for money is prohibited in India and the few states that permit gambling allow the activity to be done only at licensed premises. So technically you should not play a real money poker game in India. However, a lot of families play poker and bingo for small stakes to pass their time and do not get in trouble with the law. If you start hosting regular real money poker games and inviting people apart from the members who reside in your house, you could end up getting in trouble with the law.

• This will depend upon the terms and conditions followed by each sportsbook. There are limits in place as some sites have reported suspicious activity when large sums of cash where bet on certain cricket games. They found that bookies in India were placing bets on behalf of hundreds of bettors from one account. The minimum amount can be from 100 to 500 rupees while the max amount can go up to 50,000 to 100,000 rupees.