Sportsbooks Plan To Enter India
December 8th, 2009 | 
Author: Leading online bookies are bidding for the first online gambling license in India to take share of country’s attractive $60bn betting market. William Hill, Betfair and Bwin are bidding for the internet license in the Himalayan state of Sikkim
It is known that some 13 betting companies, including local Indian operators, are battling it out for at least three licenses in Sikkim. Bookmakers want to launch their betting services live before the football World Cup in South Africa. Ladbrokes and 888 might also bid for a license in Sikkim.
Even though the license holders will be allowed to offer their services in Sikkim, they also expect to be able to take bets from all over India. India has a rapidly growing population of 1.2 billion, but Internet penetration remains low compared to Western standards and increasing only in more affluent states. Online sportsbooks hope that once other Indian states see the huge revenues and tax flowing into Sikkim, they will follow the trend.
Spokesman from William Hill said: "I can confirm that we are interested in entering the Indian market and we are in discussions with potential partners at the moment.” Indian law requires foreign companies to partner with a local company to offer its services. It has been informed that William Hill held talks with Global Torrent International based in Sikkim.
Betfair, best if all online betting exchanges, is partnering with Agilisys Managed Services. Betfair and Bwin have had teams on the ground in India for some time.
A Ladbrokes spokesman said: "We are watching the space to see what happens because there are several partner opportunities to get a license in the province of Sikkim.” 888 might also bid for a license in Sikkim.
The only legal betting activities in India are horse racing, trackside at meetings, and gambling at casinos in just two states, Goa and Sikkim.
According to official reports, legal operators of casinos and horse racing operations make about 0m in revenue in India each year from an estimated total betting turnover of bn.
However, the total value of bets waged in black market in India each year is at least $40bn. As a result, illegal outfits generate combined operator revenues of about bn each year. Online betting makes up only a fraction of the overall market.
Mail this post
Posted in 
Tags: