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Gambling in India: Statistics & Trends (2026)
India built one of the world's fastest-growing online gambling markets — and then, in 2026, banned it. Before the ban, India's online gambling sector was generating around $2.1 billion a year and growing at nearly 20% annually, with about 155 million real-money gamers out of nearly half a billion online players. Cricket betting and fantasy sports dominated. Then the PROGA Act (1 May 2026) outlawed all online money gaming nationwide — a shock that has pushed a huge, cricket-mad betting market offshore and underground almost overnight. Here are the numbers.
Gambling in India at a glance
- India's online gambling market made about $2.14 billion in 2025, growing ~20% a year (pre-ban).
- Around 155 million Indians played real-money games, of 488 million total online gamers.
- Sports betting was ~52% of gambling revenue in 2025 — overwhelmingly cricket-driven.
- Fantasy sports contests during the IPL drew tens of millions of active users.
- A 28% GST on the full face value of bets (since Oct 2023) already squeezed the market.
- The PROGA ban (May 2026) outlawed all online money gaming — see our India gambling laws guide.
How big is India's online gambling market?
Before the 2026 ban, India's online gambling market generated roughly $2.14 billion in revenue in 2025 and had been forecast to grow to nearly $9 billion by 2033 at about a 19.6% compound annual rate. In rupee terms, the broader real-money gaming sector was on track to top ₹388 billion by 2026. It was one of the fastest-growing gambling markets on earth — until the law changed. For the global context of where that money goes, see how much money casinos make.
How many people gamble in India?
The scale of participation was enormous. India had roughly 488 million online gamers in 2024, adding about 33 million new players that year across casual and real-money segments. Of those, an estimated 155 million played real-money games — rummy, fantasy sports, poker and betting apps. That's a real-money gaming population larger than most countries' entire populations, powered by cheap data and a young, mobile-first user base.
India's online gaming users (2024)
Source: DemandSage, Statista. Real-money gaming was the fastest-growing and highest-revenue slice before the 2026 ban.
What do Indians bet on?
Overwhelmingly, cricket. Sports betting made up about 52% of gambling revenue in 2025, driven by the country's deep cricket culture and the explosive growth of fantasy sports. Fantasy platforms built around the Indian Premier League (IPL) attracted tens of millions of players, turning every match into a betting event via in-play and daily-fantasy formats. Rummy and poker (long defended as games of skill) made up much of the rest. It's a very different mix from the US, where the split runs across many sports — see how much Americans bet on sports.
How is the 2026 ban reshaping the market?
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), in force since 1 May 2026, banned all online money games nationwide — the single biggest disruption any major gambling market has seen. Overnight, a legal, taxpaying $2 billion industry was outlawed. The most likely effect isn't that Indians stop betting on cricket — it's that the activity moves offshore and underground, to unlicensed international sites and crypto casinos beyond the reach of Indian regulators and taxes. That shift trades a regulated, taxed market for an invisible one, with weaker consumer protection and rising problem-gambling risk (see our losses data).
A market that didn't disappear. Bans rarely erase demand — India's enormous cricket-betting appetite predates any legal market and will outlast the ban. The pre-2026 figures here capture the size of that demand; post-ban, most of it is simply harder to measure.
Why did India's market grow so fast?
Three forces drove the boom: cheap mobile internet (among the lowest data prices in the world), near-universal smartphone adoption, and a huge, young population comfortable with digital payments. Layer that over an obsessive cricket culture and daily-fantasy mechanics, and real-money gaming spread faster in India than almost anywhere. Those same drivers are why the demand won't vanish just because the legal supply has.
Frequently asked questions
How big is gambling in India?
Before the 2026 ban, India's online gambling market generated about $2.14 billion in 2025 and was growing nearly 20% a year, with a forecast of roughly $9 billion by 2033. The PROGA Act then banned online money gaming nationwide.
How many people gamble in India?
India had about 488 million online gamers in 2024, of whom an estimated 155 million played real-money games such as fantasy sports, rummy and betting apps.
What do Indians bet on most?
Cricket, by a wide margin. Sports betting was about 52% of gambling revenue in 2025, driven by cricket and fantasy-sports platforms built around the IPL, which drew tens of millions of players.
Is online gambling still legal in India?
No. The PROGA Act, in force since 1 May 2026, bans all online money games nationwide, including real-money fantasy, rummy, poker, casino play and crypto gambling. See our India gambling laws guide for details.
Sources
- DemandSage — Online Gaming India Statistics 2026
- Grand View Research — India Online Gambling Market Size & Outlook
- Statista — Online gaming in India
- PlayToday — Gambling in India Statistics