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Offshore betting sites cash in as RMG ban-hit local players retreat
The ban on online real money gaming (RMG) may have left homegrown platforms staring at the extinction of their business model but offshore betting websites are rushing in to fill the gap, said industry executives. Platforms such as Parimatch, 1XBet, RajaBets, 4RABet and Odds92 are busy pulling in the punters, boasting deposit bonuses ranging from 200% to 700% on amounts between Rs 30,000 and Rs 1 lakh, along with add-ons such as 500 free spins, ET has discovered. That means for a deposit of Rs 100, a user could get credit ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 700, going by the claims.
These offers are much higher than bonuses of up to Rs 5,000 that these operators had offered before the ban legislation was passed by parliament last week, insiders said.
“With this sudden strike against the organised industry, the government has unleashed a monster in the form of offshore betting platforms that it cannot control… The law of unintended consequences is very much ingrained in this law,” a company founder told ET on condition of anonymity. “Authorities were already fighting tooth and nail to curb proxy websites before the bill, but now we are not even technologically prepared to deal with the surge in surrogate advertising and cash-based play.”
He warned that the social fallout could be severe, with a potential rise in suicides and loan defaults, as offshore operators aggressively promote addictive, chance-based gambling where algorithms are designed for users to lose. The social cost was the reason cited by the government for the ban, which came as a shock to domestic gaming companies.
The sudden vacuum has also opened the floodgates for cybercrime, said security experts. Users, especially younger gamers, are being targeted with fake refund links and phishing scams to malicious “mirror apps” and grey-market wallets. Meanwhile, broadcast groups on apps like Signal and Telegram are running tutorials on how to join platforms such as Maxbet, Mega:Pari and transfer funds without any hassle.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, criminalises money-based online games that do not fall within the government's definition of either eSports or casual social gaming.
All India-based digital gaming companies such as Dream11, MPL, Winzo, Zupee and Gameskraft have discontinued money-based games in compliance with the law, leaving the field clear for foreign unorganised operators, which have intensified their campaigns.
Union minister for electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw told ET last week that the government had been engaged with the gaming industry for more than three years and many attempts had been made to make companies understand the harms to society, and that a self-regulating body was even proposed.
“They themselves were getting feedback from society,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was not effective. The way the harm to society was growing, this would have become a much bigger national problem than the problem of drugs.”
He added that the choice was between saving society and one segment of an industry, and it was very clear what the Centre needed to do.
The aggressive response of the overseas apps to the law's passage was in line with previous behaviour.
“This was not wholly unexpected because we saw a similar episode in October 2023 when the government imposed 28% GST on online gaming and many such websites took advantage of this and ran banner ads claiming ‘No GST',” said Deepro Guha, associate director at public policy firm The Quantum Hub. “The law as it stands today does not substantially change the process of blocking such URLs and apps. It still has to go through the procedure laid down in the IT Act. There will be unmet demand for online money gaming, that illegal offshore platforms might swoop in to take advantage of.”
Many of the sites feature the photos of ‘star gamers,' who have apparently won big, as a lure. But users who spoke to ET said they didn't know of anyone who had actually received winnings in the form of money from these platforms.
The government has for long tried to clamp down on offshore betting operators, which are mostly registered in tax havens and operate through mirror websites. So far, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has issued repeated blocking orders for 1300 such URLs and apps under Section 69A of the IT Act.
But operators often resurfaced under new domain names, while payments are routed through surrogate apps, wallets and even cryptocurrency. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) had also issued strict guidelines to celebrities and media companies to avoid promoting offshore betting brands.
“Illegal offshore betting and gambling websites are now flourishing in the vacuum created by the ban on skill based real money gaming platforms,” said Kazim Rizvi, founding director of public policy think tank The Dialogue. “Their modus operandi is simple but dangerous. They register and host servers outside India, which makes it very difficult to block them permanently. Once a domain is blocked, they quickly spin up new mirror websites, and this pattern repeats itself.”
The illegal offshore platforms exploit loopholes in payments by routing money through crypto wallets, disguised UPI transactions and third-party vouchers. On top of that, they rely heavily on aggressive marketing through influencers, peer-to-peer communication groups and surrogate advertising that funnels unsuspecting gamers onto their platforms.
The bumper deposit bonuses are also a trap, experts said. Once players deposit large sums, the platforms use rigged games, hidden withdrawal conditions and arbitrary account freezes to ensure that winnings are rarely realised.
“What makes them especially dangerous is the complete absence of oversight,” Rizvi said. “Unlike licensed platforms, there is no grievance redressal or legal recourse for Indian players. Beyond financial losses, there are serious risks of fraud and identity theft, since users are sharing bank details and personal information with shady offshore entities.”
These sites also act as potential vehicles for money laundering, exposing players to unintended legal consequences. They are weaponising addictive design, exploiting legal grey zones and prioritising profit over player safety, he said.
Source: EconomicTimes
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