Can I bet online in India? Betting is considered to be legal in many countries across the world, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. However, in countries of the Indian subcontinent, India Pakistan and Bangladesh, sports betting is considered to be illegal, thanks to a British era law. Nowadays, you may have come across individuals who bet using the Internet, or you may have seen advertisements for betting websites like 10cric, betway, and Dafabet during games. Seeing them, you may be thinking can I bet online in India? Let’s find out.
Can I bet online in India?
As mentioned above, a law formed in the days of British India, The Public Gambling Act of 1867, considers all forms of gambling, and gambling houses to be illegal. Anyone caught breaking this law can face imprisonment of up to 6 months and a fine of ₹200. Obviously, the internet and online gambling did not exist back then, and there is no mention of online betting in the law.
There have been no amendments made to the law, to include online betting or gambling, leaving a huge loophole. Also, while the Information Technology Act of 2000 does not allow betting or gambling websites to run in India, there is no mention of foreign websites.
This leaves a large grey area, which is open to interpretations and is regularly exploited by betting websites. The law in its current state does not consider online betting a crime if the betting website is located outside India. All betting website, currently allowing Indians to bet, are hosted in foreign countries, outside the jurisdiction of Indian laws. Till now, there have been no known cases of arrest due to online betting in India.
So until and unless a specific law is formed, similar to the American Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of the USA, to ban any form of online betting, Indians and betting websites will continue to exploit the loopholes, and enjoy betting online.
