Karnataka will join its southern neighbors in bringing in legislation to ban online betting and gambling in the upcoming Legislature session starting on Monday, 18 October 2021.
A few weeks ago, the Karnataka State proposed a ban on online games involving betting and wagering, emphasising on “any act or risking money, or otherwise on the unknown result of an event including a game of skill”.
The online gaming industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% to $2 billion by 2023, up from $906 million in 2019, according to a report by All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and EY India.
The coronavirus pandemic has left many in India stuck at home during a series of total and partial lockdowns, and such isolation, combined with some of the world’s cheapest internet rates, has made it both tempting and easy to gamble online.
“India is sweetly positioned to exponentially grow the gaming industry,” said Vishal Seth, a managing director overseeing mergers and acquisitions for Protiviti India. “The online platform has a very strong outlook considering India has the world’s largest youth population and the second-largest Internet penetration.”
