Betting and gambling are strictly prohibited in India under the Public Gambling Act, 1867, and are considered illegal in the majority of regions across the country. However, sports betting apps continue to make inroads in the country with 19.4 lakh new downloads in 2023, as per data.ai’s latest report “State of Mobile 2024”. Of this, nearly 2.6 lakh downloads were reported in the last quarter of 2023 alone which raises a serious question over the enforcement of such bans. Worldwide, sports betting apps saw 4.2 crore downloads in Q4 2023, compared to 3.7 crore downloads in Q4 2022. 

No surprises that the consumer spend on sports betting in India spiked to $121,000 in 2023, compared to $105,000 in 2022. It was merely $28,000 in 2019, the report reveals. 

The report also highlights that India continues to rule the world of fantasy sports so much so that nine Indian firms were among top 10 most downloaded apps worldwide, as per data.ai report. 

The list has Dream11, My11Circle, Howzat, Myteam11, Cricket Exchange Fantasy, Vision11, A23, Perfect Lineup and Real11 in the same order. Data.ai clubs them all under “Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting Apps.” 

The consumer spends on fantasy sports in the country spiked from $25,000 in 2022 to $120,000 in 2023. 

“Sports apps let users feel like they are a part of the action,” says the report, describing the reasons behind their popularity globally. 

Notably, My11Circle is currently one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League. Dream11 had sponsored IPL and the cricket world cup in the past. 

Impact of GST short-lived 

According to the report, the gaming apps download dropped significantly in the Q2 of 2023 and spiked again in Q4 of 2023. Incidentally, in October 2023, the Indian government announced a 20 percent GST on Real-Money Gaming (RMG) retrospectively. 

The tax regime was believed to be the biggest setback for the country's burgeoning gaming and fantasy sports sector which had been at the forefront of advertising and sponsoring sports tournaments. However, the fiasco didn't seem to have deterred gaming enthusiasts from downloading and playing games. 

With nearly 455 million gamers, the gaming segment in India is now a formidable force in the M&E sector, displacing filmed entertainment to become the fourth largest segment. Almost a quarter of them are engaging with online games daily. About 90 million gamers reportedly paid for online games and real money gaming comprised 83% of segment revenues, says an EY report released early this year. 

“The robust growth of this segment is also expected to continue through to 2026, where it will become a sector worth Rs 38,800 cr,” the EY report had noted. 

Betting in grey area

The unregulated gambling industry is worth an estimated Rs 8,20,000 crore, industry experts say. There is a surge in business during IPL, world cup and even in election season, insiders say. 

Incidentally, in December 2023, the central government banned 174 betting and gaming apps. Some of the apps on the banned list were Mahadev, Parimatch, Fairplay, 1XBET, Lotus365, Dafabet, and Betwaysatta. 

With no definitive law governing online betting, it’s largely a grey area. 

“Sports betting and game-fixing is banned in India. However, the new-age fantasy gaming apps allow users to play against other participants, make one’s own team and place bets (for a lack of a better/enacted term). These are taken to be under the ‘game of skill’ category and therefore, they are allowed to operate currently,” experts say. 

Industry insiders shared, “Multiple laws have come into place such as the Consumer Protection Act and IT Act. One of the primary acts dealing with this is the Public Gaming Act, 1867. While this is not up to date on the topic of online betting, the law is subject to regulation by states.”

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