Is online gambling via an overseas casino under Curacao or MGA licensing legal? Casinoplusbonus editor Jack Bannon investigates. (Photo by stockgiu on Vecteezy)
India does not condone its citizens signing up to online casinos overseas. However, the current online gambling laws are open to interpretation.
Now, ‘does not condone’ is the key phrase here. Overseas online casinos, including those licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and other foreign jurisdictions, are generally considered illegal in India. Again, the keyword here is ‘generally’.
However, not all casino games in the country are illegal, so strictly speaking, gambling online on these games is legal, and here is why.
India’s Public Gambling Act of 1867 was created before the Internet existed. Therefore, it does not mention online gambling, but if you consider some forms of gambling in the country are illegal, then the government also sees playing those games online as illegal.
To make matters even more complex, India’s gambling laws fall under the control of each state, which can override the Federal Government. Some states have banned online gambling altogether, which you will find on our Best Casinos India page, while places like Delhi allow online gambling.
Why can players in India sign up for overseas online gambling sites?
With the law for online gambling in India cleared up, the next question is, why can players in India still sign up to overseas gambling sites accepting INR?
Well, the answer is that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has not blocked these sites, which is strange considering the 28% gambling taxes the government earns from online gambling sites that operate legally from within the country. I like to call this ‘the 28% crazy gambling tax‘.
Stats that allow online gambling or have gambling laws have to enforce the 28% tax law on all deposits. I.e., if you are a player from India, you deposit 10,000 Rupees and receive a balance of 7,200 Rupees. Therefore, banning overseas online casinos that accept INR is likely going to become a priority for MeitY at some point.
In fact, MeitY has already suggested that as part of new online gambling licensing laws in the country, it will begin to ban online casinos from advertising or offering their services to players in India.
Even then, most online casino players in India can get around these bans simply by using a VPN and accessing VPN-friendly online casinos.
Cryptocurrency casinos are a workaround for players in India
There is a risk to signing up for online casinos overseas for players in India due to another agency that is also working and implementing federal laws for the online gambling industry in the country.
1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have strict regulations in place that forbid transactions INR transactions with online casinos operating overseas.
2. It is extremely risky for high rollers to make large INR deposits and withdrawals with overseas online casinos. This is because the ED investigates foreign exchanges and transactions to enforce AML laws, and online gambling is a key area the organisation investigates.
The way around this for some players in India is to invest in crypto, open a non-custodial crypto wallet, deposit to this wallet, and then use this wallet for crypto casino deposits and withdrawals.
Even crypto can be risky if you are a high roller, as getting large sums of money back into the country by converting from crypto to INR could trigger an ED investigation.
How to stay safe if you sign up to an online casino overseas
In my opinion, if you are a citizen or resident of India and you are looking to sign up for an online casino overseas, then there are five key points you should take into account.
1. Is online gambling or gambling on the whole legal in your jurisdiction?
2. Always make sure you sign up for online casinos with either MGA or Curacao licensing as per our safe online casinos guide.
3. High rollers should avoid depositing using INR.
4. Cryptocurrency casinos can offer you a layer of protection if you understand how to use non-custodial crypto wallets such as Metamask.
5. Please be aware of the risks of problem gambling by reading the help for problem gambling guide in the footer. Also, look for online casinos that offer responsible gambling tools so you can set session, deposit, wager, and deposit limits. For more information, check our responsible gambling software guide,
Overall, if you are a low budget player, then the risk of signing up for an online casino operating under either the MGA or Curacao licensing authorities is minimal. However, as a high roller, the risk of signing up to play at overseas online casinos is being caught cashing out large sums of winnings.
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