Online Gambling In India

1) Casino.Bet365.com has been rated as the #1 casino site for India by Online Gambling.
2) www.Bet365.com is OnlineGambling’s top rated sports bookie for Indian cricket, soccer & sports betting.

The land of cricket, spirituality and food: India is a melting pot of diverse cultures, languages, dances, sports, architecture and customs. While there are strong debates on wether gambling online in India is legal, there is no argument about the fact that Indians love to bet, gamble & wager.

Is Gambling Allowed In India, According To Law?

Gambling in India, although heavily restricted, is still very common and popular, with betting on Indian pastimes like cricket bringing in approximately Rs 300 crore annually and as high as Rs 1,000 crore during important international tournaments, like the Indian Premier League and the cricket World Cup.

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 explicitly prohibits Indian citizens from owning, being in charge of, or entering a ‘gaming house’ (casino, betting shop or general location set up for the purpose of gambling). A punishment of two-hundred rupees maximum fine or imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months can be issued for breaking this law, as defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Specifically, the Indian Public Gaming Act of 1867 states:

3. Penalty for owning or keeping, or having charge of a gaming-house.
– Whoever, being the owner or occupier… situated within the limits to which this Act applies, opens, keeps or uses the same as a common gaming-house… whoever, being the owner or occupier of any such house… and whoever has the care or management of, or in any manner assists in conducting, the business
of any house…shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two-hundred rupees, or to imprisonment of either description, as defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), for any term not exceeding three months.

Under this same act, wagering on games of skill is allowed:

12. Act not to apply to certain games.
-Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Act contained shall be held to apply to any game of mere skill wherever played.

This means that horse race betting and wagering on games like Rummy (known locally as Paplu) are legal, as later verified in Indian court cases like the 1967 Andhra Pradesh vs K. Satyanarayana supreme court case, which concluded:

Rummy… requires [a] certain amount of skill because the fall of the cards has to be memorised 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

Despite these classifications, betting on cricket and wagering on other skill games like texas hold’em and Teen Patti/Flush poker remains illegal, regardless of the similarities. There have been no major cases of Indian residents being arrested and charged for playing Poker, so it remains a legal grey area.

So What Does Indian Law Say About Online Gambling, Specifically?

Under current Indian legislature, general gambling is prohibited and the same is assumed with gambling on the Internet.

The Indian Government have not yet put in place specific laws that apply to the subject of Internet Gambling. So there are no laws that bar internet gambling specifically, and no major cases of individuals being prosecuted for gambling online (individually – there are several recent reports of groups setting up online gambling houses, disguised as internet cafes, being shut down).

Do keep in mind though that the unofficial government stance is that the existing laws governing gambling offline are sufficient enough to cover Internet gambling – so using caution and a certain amount of discretion is definitely recommended when gambling online from India.

Federal Information Technology (FIT) Act

A fairly recent set of laws (2011) introduced by the Indian government, the FIT act provides guidelines pertaining to technical areas that the government considered illegal or “taboo”. There is nothing within the act that states that gambling online is illegal, instead, responsibility is put on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to block access to illegal or taboo websites. The act covers sports betting, poker and casino website access to Indian residents.

As in China and other asian countries where access to gambling websites is often blocked, there are several easy to find workarounds, like using hidemyass and VPN’s to gain access to blocked websites while in India instead.

Best Online Casinos For Indian Players

Indian residents have several online casino options available to them for playing old casino favorites like roulette, baccarat, slots/keno and casino war. Old Indian casino classics are availalable on these sites too, like:

• Paplu – A 21/27/13/10 card version of Rummy where you create runs & sets
• Flush/Flash/Teen Patti – India’s popular twist on 3-card (Texas Hold’em) poker
• Andar Bahar/Katti – A 50/50 odds card game where you bet on inside or outside cards on a deck cut
• Passa – An ancient indian dice game with 50/50 odds

www.Bet365.com Casino is the Indian gamblers casino of choice, quite simply because they are one of the most reputable companies in the betting and gambling industry. But also because Bet365.com allows users to sign up using their Indian home address, and are the only casino online that allows players to deposit, withdraw and play their huge selection of real money casino game in India Rupee (INR) currency.

They currently have a generous welcome bonus of 100% up to $200 USD (approximately Rs 8800 at the time of writing) – sign up at www.Bet365.com today.

Withdrawing & Depositing Your Money In India To Casino Websites

India, unlike many of it’s neighbouring Asia Pacific countries, tries to block access to ‘taboo’ websites through firewalls and filters, but does not place any governmental pressure on banks to limit what Indian residents do with their money. This means that you will not face resistance from Indian banks when trying to withdraw or deposit money from/to online casino websites, but certain casino companies are cautious of accepting payments from Indian banks due to fraud attempts and misinformation.

The only casino website that we can confirm accepts payments from Indian banks, and even allows you to keep an online balance in Indian Rupees, is Bet365 casino. They also accept deposits and withdrawals to ewallet and virtual visa/mastercard services like:

• NETeller
• EntroPay
• Moneybookers/Skrill

Legal Online Horse Betting In India

Considering India’s legacy as a former British colony, it is no surprise that horse racing and betting (both online and off) is completely legal in India. Pari-mutuel wagers and horsetrack racing were introduced to India towards the end of reign of the British Raj, around 1935.

Volume 1 of the ‘Indian Stud Book’ was published in 1927 and included various registered breeds like English Thoroughbreds, Australian Thoroughbreds, Trotters, Marwari, Kathiawaris, Desert Arabians, Half-breds, and others. In 1942 the RWITC (Royal Western Indian Turf Club) became the ‘Keepers of the Indian Stud Book’ and officially published Volume 1. India has a long history of racing stallions.

Popular Horse Race Courses In India

The main horse racing tracks where betting and wagering are allowed are:

• Mumbai Horse Racing Track – Built in 1833, 2400 meter track that hosts the Indian Derby, 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas, Oaks, St Leger and Poonawalla Multimillion
• Pune Racing Track – Built in 1830, races held from July to October and include The Pune Derby, The RWITC Gold Cup, Independence Cup and the Southern Command Cup
• Bangalore Horse Racing Track – a 1950 meter track
• Mysore Horse Racing Track – Started in 1891, mysore is an oval horse racing course
• Delhi Racing Track
• Hyderabad Racing Track
• Chennai Racing Track
• Kolkata/Calcutta Horse Racing Track

Indian Premier League Soccer Betting

The Indian Football Association (IFA) is will be launching it’s very own football league this year, peculiarly titled Indian Premier League Soccer or PLS.

Best Online Bookmakers For Indian Premier League Soccer (PLS) Betting

West Bengal Indian Premier League Soccer Franchises & Teams

• Kolkata Camelians
• Barasat Uro Masketeas
• Durgapur Vox Champions
• Howrah Manchesters
• Siliguri Bengal Tuskers
• Haldia (The Franchisee is Greymind Communications who have not yet finalized a team name)

PLS Player Purchases & Auctions

Hernan Crespo & Fabio Cannavaro were the most highly sought after players among those auctioned for the PLS’s teams during the first official sales in Taj Bangla.

The Argentinean player Hernan Crespo had the highest sale price of €635,000. Italy’s 2006 World Cup skipper Fabio Cannavaro claimed the second best sale price at €630,000 from a base price of €590,000.

Robert Pires, the very popular French winger was bought by Howrah for €606,000, and Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler was purchased at €402,000 after a bidding war.

Here is the complete list of purchases:

Icon Players

Overseas Players

Overseas Players Of Asian Origin

Coaches

Premier League Soccer India Schedule

The Indian Premier League Soccer season will kick off on March 24th, with the final match scheduled to take place on May 6th.

The idea is to start the PLS season alongside the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the 24th, with pre-season training starting on March 3rd and the players arriving in West Bengal a few days before.

The IFA secretary, Utpal kumar Ganguly, also confirmed the PLS winning prize money at Rs 1.5.

Betting On Sports & IPL Cricket in India

From English Premier League (EPL) football to IPL & world cup Cricket, India is a nation in love with sports. Betting on sports, however, is prohibited under law as mentioned at the top of this page. If caught placing bets with a local bookie, a tiny fine of RS. 100 or a more severe 1 month prison sentence might be the punishment.

The solution is to use an online sports betting service to make cricket, football, horse racing and other sports bets, and avoid the risk alltogether. There have been no cases of individuals, betting at small to intermediate levels, being apprehended or sentenced due to using online sports betting websites. To the contrary, huge betting operations like William Hill and BetFair are actively targetting Indian betting consumers as the market is wide open and pretty safe at the moment.

Sports Bookies For India

Bet365 Withdrawal Times To Banks In India

A common question amongst those using Bet365 and other gambling websites from within India is “How long will it take me to withdraw my winnings?”
Bet365 uses PlayTech software to power it websites, playtech casinos and sports book websites usually have a 1-2 day delay on withdrawals, something to do with transaction request times and how the software communicates with banking services.

www.Bet365.com however, seems to have next to no delay time with their withdrawals to services like MoneyBookers/Skrill, Click2Pay, EntroPay, PayPal, NETeller and Visa/Mastercard debit & credit cards. A good tip is to contact them through live chat and request your withdrawal there, they will request your 4 digit security number but it seems talking to a live operator ensures instant transfer of your money.

Bank Wire Transfers To India

With bank wire transfers to Indian bank accounts, Bet365 wires are sent from within the UK and usually take 7-10 days to clear. They offer one free bank wire withdrawal every 28 days to Indian banks, any additional withdrawals will be charged £12 (approx 1000 INR) for a standard bank wire and £15 (approx 1300 INR) for an urgent bank wire.

Keep in mind that bank wire transfers are generally only available for withdrawals exceeding Rs. 2 Lakh, and there is a risk that the Bet365 company name will appear on your bank transaction ledger, leaving a paper trail that you might not want.

MoneyBookers/Skrill Withdrawals To India

Moneybookers is a very efficient withdrawal option for www.Bet365.com users in India. They support INR currency (rupees) just like Bet365, so you incur no currency conversion fees. Moneybookers is also regularly used by freelance internet workers in India, so you wont raise suspicion with your bank and alert them to the fact that you are gambling by having several moneybookers transactions going in and out of your account every month.

Verification for Moneybookers can be a little difficult, however, but once set up it’s a breeze to use. First of all you need your banks swift code, if you can’t get this in branch then call the main customer service number. You also need a 6-digit VRF CODE, from experience the easiest way to discover this is to wire for verification, costing a cool Rs. 1000 (or more) at most banks. Try contacting moneybookers directly and working out an alternative, they have proven to be very helpful and flexible with account setup in the past.

Note: for some reason ICICI banks cards do not work with Moneybookers so you will have to stick to transferring money directly to/from moneybookers via wire.

Paying Taxes On Betting Winnings In India

A common question that arises when talking about gambling (casino and sports betting in particular) in India is how much tax should be paid on any winnings. Section 115BB of the Income Tax Act, which clearly lays out the rate of tax citizens are obligated to pay for winnings of any lottery, card games, horse-racing, crossword puzzle or any other type of gambling or betting, puts tax rates at thirty percent (30%).

115BB.
…the income-tax payable shall be the aggregate of
(i) the amount of income-tax calculated on income by way of winnings from such lottery or crossword puzzle or race including horse race or card game and other game of any sort or from gambling or betting of any form or nature whatsoever, at the rate of 32[thirty] per cent; and
(ii) the amount of income-tax with which the assessee would have been chargeable had his total income been reduced by the amount of income referred to in clause (i).

Do note that there is no distinction in the act between legal, illegal, and ‘grey area’ gambling activities, so even illegal betting and gambling winnings would be liable to be taxed under this Section.

Sikkim Online PlayWin Lottery

The PlayWin lottery is an online lottery run by the Sikkim government. Set up in 2001, Playwin and it’s variants are played in towns all across India. In 2010, PlayWin proudly announced that it’s lotto games had created 72 crorepatis (millionaires) and 3,200 lakhpatis (thousandaires – in rupees). The five lotto games that PlayWin offer have a minimum ticket price of 10 rupees and can all be played online at www.myplaywin.com:

Thunderball – Starting jackpot of RS 1 crore (10 million rupees).
Thursday Super Lotto – Starting jackpot of RS 2 crore (20 million rupees).
Saturday Super Lotto – Starting jackpot of RS 2 crore (20 million rupees).
Fast Lotto Draw – Starting jackpot of RS 2 lakh (200,000 rupees).
E-Play Draw – Every day draw at 10:00am to 9:00pm every 20 minutes

Biggest PlayWin Jackpot In History
The largest jackpot payout under the PlayWin lottery was RS 17.29 crore (172.9 million rupees), won by a resident of Kolkata in 2006.

PlayWin Lotto Results

Sikkim PlayWin lotto results and daily draws can be viewed at http://www.myplaywin.com. However, if you are interested in a wider choice of lottery and similar games like online keno & Bingo that have huge payouts, give www.BET365.com a try. They currently have a welcome bonus of 100% at the moment up to 8800 rupees, meaning if you deposit 2000 rupees after signing up, they’ll match that 1st deposit with a free 2000 rupees that you can play with.