Why the Indian online casino market is growing?

Over recent years, the quality of casino games has hugely improved in terms of the mobile experience

When we conjure up images of casinos and gambling the obvious association is the strip in Vegas. This was the go-to place back in the day, but then the 1990s saw the arrival of online casinos. These saw phenomenal growth around the world and made the casino experience accessible to those who had never had the chance to gamble before. The impact has been felt worldwide, but nowhere more so than in India.

The year 2021 has so far seen the online casino market in India grow at record levels. In fact, with a value of over $900 million, the Indian online gambling industry is the most valuable in the world. With growing numbers of internet users in the country, what is it that is driving the growth in online casinos and why are operators struggling to keep up with demand?

The birth of live casino games

India is a geographically vast country. With so many cities, towns, and villages, it is an area that is truly vast. Bearing in mind the vastness, it is perhaps surprising to learn that there are only three places in India where you can enjoy a land-based casino: Goa, Daman, and Sikkim. This means that the majority of people in India will never have had the opportunity to experience all that a casino has to offer. Online casinos were an answer to start with and then game the live casino experience!

Game developers such as Evolution Gaming added something special to the whole online casino experience. Live-streamed games allow people to experience a live casino in the comfort of their own homes. Games such as roulette, blackjack, and poker can all be played with live dealers and a great atmosphere. This was a whole new world for many in India who had been unable to travel to the three locations that have casinos. This live casino experience saw the popularity of online casinos skyrocket.

Mobile phones are extremely popular with residents in India. As technology has developed and costs have come down, smartphones have become more and more accessible. With access to smartphones, those in India then found themselves being able to enjoy all that online casinos have to offer whilst on the go. There was now no need to own a desktop or laptop: the casino experience could be enjoyed on a phone or tablet.

Over recent years, the quality of casino games has hugely improved in terms of the mobile experience. Thanks to HTML5 technology, the experience offers all that you’d get from a desktop site. Even the live casino games look outstanding on mobile devices and can be enjoyed wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

A young population

India has one of the biggest populations in the world. What is interesting about its population is just how young it is. Over 50% of people are aged 25 or under. 75% of the population is aged 45 or under. Why does this matter? This is exactly the target market for online casinos. These are the age groups that engage with gambling online and who enjoy it as a hobby.

The other relevance of a young population is that it is perhaps slightly more open-minded to change. Many online casinos have switched the payment methods that they offer. Away from traditional bank cards and transfers, there are now numerous e-wallets offered too. The latest offering is that of cryptocurrencies. You can now play at India live casino with Bitcoins using this crypto as a deposit or withdrawal method. The young population have embraced crypto and being able to use it in this way has made the live casino experience even more popular. 

An internet boom

Of course, online casinos need internet access. To be able to enjoy the live streaming of games, internet access also needs to be strong and stable. It may be that you’d expect the likes of China or the US to have the most internet users in the world, but it is actually India that has the most.

In India, there are over 560 million internet users and this has had a huge impact on the growth of online casinos. As the internet continues to grow and spread across the country, it is likely that more of the population will soon be exposed to, and fall in love with, the live online casino experience.