Online casinos are categorized into two major categories - licensed and unlicensed casinos. The former is majorly opted by the players to secure their transactions and play in a safe environment. The state's law does not recognize the latter, and players must play in these casinos at their own risk. You may get better gaming options in unlicensed casinos, but they come with the fear of promoting gambling addiction, and responsible gambling may be a far-off word.
Let's dive deep into the world of licensed and unlicensed casinos.
Licensed v/s Unlicensed Casinos: What You Need To Know?
Gambling in India is regulated by the Public Gambling Act of 1867. It is a state subject, so different states in the country have enacted laws to take care of the same. A few states completely ban casino games, and other states allow games like Poker, Rummy, and other games of skill. However, where you play the game makes a lot of difference. Well, every penny spent in a casino can or cannot be a penny earned sometimes.
So, choose the licensed or unlicensed casino only after evaluating the risks and checking the benefits below.
Licensed Casino
Top-notch gambling authorities license these casinos, like the Malta Gaming Board, Curacao Gaming Commission, UK Games Commission, and Gibraltar Games Authority. The Dutch Gaming Authority is an emerging gaming authority. They test the gambling authorities' legal, technical, and operational aspects.
Only those casinos are provided with the license that fulfills the conditions laid down by these Gambling Authorities. If you want to start casino gambling in India, taking permission from the state authorities is mandatory. Licensed casinos offer legal and regulated products to the players. Moreover, there are parameters to get the license, and casinos must pay the fee. To start gambling activities in India, you must be a licensed casino to avoid problems.
Unlicensed Casino
These types of casinos operate more in a free environment. It offers great opportunities to the players from across the globe. However, a few countries, including India, have some casino restrictions imposed. In this situation, the players log on to the free-will casino to enjoy the gameplay.
Benefits of Licensed v/s Unlicensed Casinos
Licensed Casinos
Encourages Responsible Gambling: These casinos will save you from the danger of addiction. You can be restricted from gambling activities whenever you want. Licensed casinos follow the responsible gambling attribute.
More Players: The licensed casinos in India will help attract more than unlicensed casinos. People want to play safe nowadays and want to stay away from the scams too. Your personal and financial details will be secured too.
Quick Resolving of Disputes: The best thing about playing at a licensed casino is resolving disputes quickly. The players can keep their plea in front of the authorities and resolve disputes regarding bonuses, wins, promotions, etc.
No Levying of Tax: The best part of playing at a licensed casino is that you do not have to pay taxes. You can play with the welcome bonus and earn good winnings, but you will never have to pay taxes. Only online casinos pay taxes to the relevant authorities to operate their casinos in India.
Agreeable Laws Make Gaming Process Fast: The agreed legalized laws for playing games in every state of India make the gameplay process easier. You can play rummy, poker, or any other games of skill without worrying about the state's laws. Legalized casinos allow gaming under strict legalization.
Unlicensed Casinos
More Bonuses: You will get more bonuses if you play at unlicensed casinos. However, whether you get these bonuses in full is also not final.
Loyalty System: Players can receive loyalty and personal bonuses at unlicensed casinos. The wider choice of these casinos offers a larger selection of games too.
Few Casinos with SSL: Only a few unlicensed casinos by the Indian authorities seem to have used SSL and HTTPS. You can expect to have HTTPS or use the SSL protocol in not all these casinos.
Risks of Playing at Licensed Casinos
Increased Exposure to Children: Legalizing gambling has led to early exposure to online casinos among children. You can see youngsters betting beyond the age of 18+ years, which is legally not correct.
Limited Bonus Package: The licensed casinos pay much of their tax revenue. So, you will always find a lesser amount in the bonus package and little to no jackpot bonuses.
Procurement of Licenses: The procurement of licenses may be late because of fulfilling all the requirements. Even the sub-licenses are audited, so it will make things late for the licensed casinos. It is also a major reason there are fewer licensed and more unlicensed casinos.
Closure of International Markets: Most international casinos are not allowed in Indian states for operation. You can provide Indian legit casino games or games of skill, but it depends on the state of the country whether to recognize you or not. This way, you can land in the lurch, too, if you plan to operate it illegally.
Risks of Unlicensed Casinos
No Help From Authorities: Let's say you land in trouble regarding procuring your wins. As the Indian authorities do not recognize the casino, you will land in a soup. There will be no one to help you with your winnings. You cannot even retrieve your bets.
No Great Customer Support: The unlicensed casinos are dicey than the licensed ones. You may see the customer support number, but there will be no full-fledged support on the game, betting, or winning matters.
Each online gaming casino has its benefits and risks. If you are a gambler, risk is associated with you. However, it is your call to pick the right and legit thing over the wrong one. You can always read the expert comments to know more about the casino laws in India.
The Latest News
Ana D.
•May 30, 2024
Lotteries and other forms of gambling have a colourful history in India. While lotteries are regulated under a central umbrella, how they are managed is subject to the discretion of state governments. However, the growing popularity of lotteries saw the Lotteries (Regulation) Act of 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010 introduced, which established detailed standards for the governments to follow.
Currently, lottery games are legal in 13 Indian states, though anyone of legal gambling age in India can buy international lottery tickets online. The ticket prices and prize pools of government lotteries in India vary depending on the lottery scheme and state in which it is regulated. Tickets for weekly draws begin at modest prices like ₹2 or ₹5 and increase for bumper draws and special schemes.
Akil Khan
•March 21, 2024
Whether you like it or not, luck plays a crucial role in gambling. And while many would argue that it’s an unreliable force, for many Indians, the ancient tradition of Vedic astrology offers a way to understand how luck works in the universe and how one could potentially manipulate it to work in one’s favour.
Vedic astrology (known as Jyotish in Sanskrit) is the practice of studying planetary positions, celestial influences, and karmic patterns to understand how these influence and shape human lives and destinies.
When it comes to gambling, some Indians look to Vedic astrology to boost their chances of success. By analysing astrological charts and horoscopes, and identifying cosmic connections, gamblers seek to find the most advantageous time to gamble, looking for lucky combinations of numbers, or even charms and rituals to help improve their chances.
Let’s look at this more closely:
Planetary configurations
"Muhurtha", an essential principle of Vedic astrology, indicates the opportune time to partake in certain activities based on planetary configurations. It also highlights when best to avoid certain activities. So, in the case of gambling, a player would wait for a favourable Muhurtha to maximise their chances of success.
Presence of the planets
Vedic astrology focuses on nine “grahas”, which are collectively referred to as the “navagrahas” (nava meaning nine). They include the sun (Surya), moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangala), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Brihaspati), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), Rahu (north node of the moon), and Ketu (south node of the moon). According to Vedic astrology, the planet Venus offers luxury and Jupiter provides immense wealth. A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus unafflicted with the moon is therefore said to bring good luck and prosperity.
Birth charts
Many Indians strongly believe in analysing their birth chart in every aspect of their life. This comes from Vedic astrology, which argues that the alignment of different celestial bodies at your birth can provide invaluable insights. In the case of betting, it could highlight a person’s gambling and risk-taking tendencies and subsequent strategies they could employ to maximise their chances of winning, translating into profits and success.
Astrology and numerology
Hindus love to rely on their favourite numbers, particularly when it comes to gambling, and generally prefer odd numbers over even. Seven and eight are considered auspicious numbers, representing success and prosperity. Many Hindus also use these numbers at the time of Diwali when, in some houses, gambling is a ritual. Another lucky sequence of numbers in Hinduism is 786, representing the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Akil Khan
•March 21, 2024
In casinos, we often hear phrases like good luck and good fortune. Not surprising, really, given how the majority of casino games are based primarily on chance, though some would claim that success is also down to mathematics and algorithms.
In any case, luck plays a crucial role in gambling, and many gamblers will have their own rituals they perform before games or even lucky charms they carry to improve their chances of winning.
Hinduism, one of the oldest practising religions in the world, believes in positive and negative energy, which could define your moves and outcomes. Furthermore, there are several ways one can channel these energies, whether through prayer or certain objects such as charms or symbols. We shall discuss these in more detail below.