Sports Betting Laws In India for 2025
India is an interesting country when it comes to legal gambling options. This is because the overarching gambling law is nearly two centuries old. While brick-and-mortar and online gambling have been considered illegal for most of the nation’s history, there have been some amendments and updates in alignment with current gambling trends.
This page covers all the relevant gambling laws and regulatory agencies in India. It is important to understand the legal framework of gambling in India before engaging in any type of gaming activity. This page is dedicated to providing an accurate report of how the laws apply to sports betting.
Is It Legal To Bet On Sports In India in 2025?
The only type of sports betting considered legal in India is wagering on horse races. Betting has long been considered illegal thanks to the vague definitions presented in the Public Gambling Act of 1867 (more on this in another section).
However, horse race betting was formally considered a game of skill by the Indian government back in the late 90s. This freed up residents to begin wagering in legal betting outlets, most of which were located on track. There are no brick-and-mortar sportsbooks located in India.
Is It Legal To Bet On Sports Online In India?
There are no current laws in India making it illegal to bet on sports online, but there are also no laws saying it is technically legal. Online sports betting exists in this legal gray area. The fact that there are no India-based online betting services is a sign of the country’s stance on betting. Sports betting has yet to be formally classified as a game of skill, meaning it is considered a form of gambling and thereby illegal.
Residents can place bets through legally licensed and regulated offshore sportsbooks. These sportsbooks are licensed outside of India’s jurisdiction and the government does not target individual bettors using these types of sites. The Indian government has announced they are looking into gambling reformation in regards to online sports betting in India, but nothing significant has occurred yet. For now, licensed offshore sportsbooks present the best option for residents to place safe and legal wagers online.
Specific Gambling Laws That Apply To All India Residents
There is one main gambling law in India, the Public Gambling Act, which dictates the legal benchmarks for gambling. Most legislation is now handled on a state-to-state level thanks to the Constitution of India (1950).
This gave states the right to make their own legislation regarding gambling and betting. However, only 2 states have taken steps to legalize casino gambling—Sikkim and Goa. Out of these 2 states, Sikkim is the only one with legal online casino gambling options available.
Public Gambling Act of 1867
The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is the presiding law applicable to gambling in India. The Act makes it illegal to operate any sort of gaming house, to visit any sort of gaming house, to finance any sort of gambling, and to operate any gambling machines.
The loose wording of ‘gaming house’ has been misconstrued to apply to online gambling, but it is a far reach. Still, there are no domestic online sports betting options in the country. This law says nothing about betting with a licensed offshore gambling site, seeing as none existed at the time of its passing.
One thing worth mentioning regarding this law is that only applicable to games of chance, not games of skill. You can learn more about this law on our Public Gambling Act of 1867 page here.
Information Technology Act 2000
The Information Technology Act 2000 is a widespread law covering online activities. While it does not mention online sports betting or online gambling explicitly, there is a portion that some apply to the online wagering market.
This law makes it illegal to post any sort of corruptible or immoral material on the Internet. Since gambling is viewed as this taboo principle, some lawmakers consider the ITA to ban online gambling content. However, this too is a far reach as far as any actual enforcement goes.
Who Regulates Gambling In India?
Gambling regulation in India is a tricky concept, mainly because it is so spread out. At the time of the Public Gambling Act, the central government was responsible for all regulatory enforcement. Once the Indian Constitution was passed, individual states were tasked with creating their own regulatory agencies to enforce their own gambling laws.
With sports betting, there are no widespread regulatory agencies in the country. Sports betting is not technically considered legal except for in Sikkim. However, no licenses have been granted to any online sports betting operators as of yet.
The closest thing to a regulatory body is the Sports Ministry. This outfit would likely become the regulatory body if their plans to pass legislation legalizing online betting ever come to fruition. As of now, there are no online betting legislative bills. Once there are, a regulatory agent will be formed.