India's gaming fans eye illegal sites after gambling ban

NEW DELHI

India's ban on online gambling has shuttered a billion-dollar industry serving hundreds of millions of people and torpedoed the sponsorship of the national cricket team.

But players say those determined to bet will find a way to access overseas and unregulated websites, while fans of fantasy sport apps can still play, although for prizes and not cash.

India's parliament last month passed a sweeping law banning online gambling after government figures showed companies had stripped $2.3 billion annually from 450 million people.

Officials said the rapid spread of the platforms caused widespread financial distress, addiction, and suicide, while also being linked to fraud, money laundering, and financing terrorism.

The law has been challenged in court by a top online card games platform.

The ban impacts websites and apps for card games and fantasy sports, with offenders now facing up to five years in prison.

India's online gamblers will have to use VPNs to trick overseas websites into thinking they are not in the country and also use proxy credit cards for placing a bet.

Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the law separates still-legal eSports "from betting, gambling, and fantasy money games that exploit users with false promises of profit."

Dream11—which boasts of being the world's largest fantasy sports platform—posted notices that "cash games and contests have been discontinued."

It now offers prizes such as cars, phones, and fridges instead.

Dream11 also pulled out of a $43 million deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with its logo no longer splashed on the jerseys of the Indian players.

The law will also shake up the wider sporting industry, including the hugely lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition.

"Fantasy platforms are the most aggressive advertisers in IPL and world cricket," Karan Taurani from Elara Capital said, adding that they would now likely explore the overseas market.

Santosh N, of D and P Advisory, estimated that fantasy sports and crypto platforms accounted for up to 40 percent of the advertisement IPL broadcasters earned this year.