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The global sports betting market has enjoyed exponential growth since May 2018, when the US Supreme Court struck down the PAPSA legislation in 1992. This had historically prohibited sports betting at the federal level in the US, but the court’s decision enabled individual states to determine their own course.

More than 36 US states have now legalized sports betting, delivering a significant boost to the global marketplace. More recently, its growth in the Asian sports betting market has caught the eye, with this being driven primarily by India and China.

But what do the numbers tell us, and are there any regulatory challenges for markets like India to overcome?

The Growth of Sports Betting in India, Asia, and Around the World

According to a recent report commissioned by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the total gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by the global sports betting market will peak at $94 billion this year.

Around $61 billion (65%) is currently generated by online bets, with this percentage set to increase to 70% in the next four years. By 2028, the global sports betting realm will be worth an impressive $132 billion.

The Indian market is definitely at the forefront of this trend, thanks to leading sportsbook brands like Puntit. So are individual states such as Goa and Sikkim, who have developed relatively liberal iGaming legislation and empowered certain types of online gambling.

India remains a federal country, where each jurisdiction can set its own rules pertaining to remote and in-person betting. At the time of writing, a total of three states have sought to legalize sports betting.

How Soccer and Basketball are Generating Higher Revenues

While growth in the Indian and wider Asian markets has historically been driven by cricket betting, other sports have grown in popularity of late.

This includes soccer, which is forecast to contribute $53 billion in GGR alone from a total turnover of $570 billion this year. Some 65% of the total soccer GGR is also generated online, with the sport widely recognized as the most popular in the world among both fans and bettors.

Interestingly, Asia and Europe combined will account for an incredible 85% of the cumulative football betting GGR during the reporting period across both online and offline betting platforms.

Then there’s basketball. Although this sport is less popular in India and Asia when compared with the US (and even Europe), the global basketball GGR will increase from its current figure of $7.9 billion to $11 billion by the year 2028. Once again, Asia and Europe will contribute significantly, with the former’s basketball GGR projected to rise by a whopping 30% to $3.2 billion.

Undoubtedly, the rising popularity of sports other than cricket is boosting the Indian marketplace, while a similar trend is being observed throughout the whole of Asia.

A Look at the Legal Framework in India

As we’ve touched on, the legal and regulatory sports betting framework in India varies from one state to another. However, the laws in each jurisdiction are underpinned by the Public Gambling Act of 1867, which is a colonial-era piece of legislation that prohibits both operating and visiting a ‘gambling house’.

However, the law does not expressly prohibit either online betting or sports wagering directly, creating a loophole that a number of states have used to legalize these practices.

The aforementioned states of Goa and Sikkim have also drawn a clear distinction between games of skill and chance. Broadly speaking, sports betting is considered to be a game of skill, as it’s possible to make more informed selections by analyzing relevant datasets, including forms, head-to-head records and weather conditions.

This has also enabled states to legalize fantasy sports betting in some instances. Remember, bets within this vertical are based on corporeal sporting performances and can be researched using sizable datasets. The legality of fantasy sports betting in India has been upheld by various court rulings, which have found that it clearly fits the description of a game of skill.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, India is home to a huge population and scores of passionate sports fans. So, as more states have legalized sports betting, they’ve generated a significant GGR while also boosting the Asian and global markets.

For now, any efforts made to regulate Indian sports betting on a larger scale have proved unsuccessful. However, if the Law Commission of India is eventually successful in its attempts to legalize sports betting at the federal level, the global market will grow even more impressively than the most recent forecasts suggest.