Gambling is becoming one of the fastest growing industries on the planet. It seems that every year more countries are climbing on board in legalizing the activity. This has resulted either out of a desire to curb illegal activity or to provide additional sources of revenue for the government. In some instances, it is a mixture of both.
India has slowly warmed to the idea of gambling. While not legal across the entire country, there are regions within the nation where it is legal to gamble, either at a land-based facility or online. But how does that compare to other countries across the world?
Online Growing Rapidly
Like most countries who offer licenses for online casinos, India is seeing a rapid increase in the number of players signing up and playing at these sites. The access to land-based casinos is often limited because of distance and availability, so many turn to online casinos as an outstanding alternative.
This is true in India as well. As you can see at www.bestonlinecasinos.in, the best online casinos offer players incentives to join their site. One of the huge benefits of online casinos is that it has opened up competition. There are several websites available to players, meaning these casinos have to go the extra mile to attract players.
This has led to a golden opportunity for users. They not only receive welcome bonuses and are entered in loyalty programs that provide great incentives, but they know that if they do not find the game they want or do not feel they are being treated well that they can find alternatives somewhere else.
This is a phenomenon that is happening across the globe. There may be only one land-based casino available for players within 100-mile radius. That is not true of online casinos, and players are taking full advantage of that everywhere.
Who Will Rule the Day?
The online casino is becoming so popular that there is concern by many land-based casino operators that they will be unable to compete with these websites. The Covid-19 pandemic has only helped to exacerbate their concerns.
Because of the accessibility, convenience, and rewards that are offered, people are finding that online is a much better option. This is true everywhere, especially in a place like India where literally tens of millions of people are unable to reach a land-based casino on a regular basis but can access the website from their home.
India has already approved a giant new resort-casino complex to be built in the state of Goa, hoping that this will attract tourists from across the region. The government understands the importance of these facilities, but they may be finding that it is an uphill battle to compete with the online options.
To Build or Not to Build
The new resort-casino being built on the mainland in India presents a very interesting situation. A lot of countries are finding that it makes much more sense to offer the online options as opposed to offering new licenses for land-based facilities to be built. These projects can be extremely expensive and there are fewer investors willing to jump on board to build these facilities, especially in light of the worldwide pandemic.
Japan has been in the process of offering licenses to three areas in the country where giant resort-casinos are to be built. This process should have been concluded two years ago but is still ongoing. That is an indicator that there may be trouble in this industry.
However, India is bucking the trend. They are believing that their new facility is going to be something special that will attract people from inside and outside of India. If they are right, they could quickly become a hotbed for tourist activity, as they have the newest facility with all of the state-of-the-art technology included.
Still a Taboo Thing
One thing that really separates India from most countries is in regard to how gambling is viewed. This discussion is really only centered around countries that have legalized gambling. The truth is that there are many countries where gambling is considered immoral, even evil. Some countries are predominantly Muslim and gambling is outlawed completely.
In several countries, gambling has long been a part of the fabric of society. Many countries in Europe, North Africa, and Asia have long embraced gambling as part of the culture. In fact, because luck is such an important part of the culture of some societies, gambling is second nature to many people.
In Southeast Asia, the acceptance of gambling and casinos has not been an issue. When government officials wanted to build facilities, people had very little complaints about it, if any at all.
This has not been true in India. When the government first legalized gambling, they made it so that each individual state could choose to offer the activity. Several refused and have still stood in the way of legalizing it. Only one, Goa, allows for legalized gambling. They have sought to expand the industry but have faced significant opposition because the activity is still viewed in a negative light.
Because of the religious and cultural ideology of many Indians, gambling is wrong. This makes it one of the few countries on the planet where this attitude is prevalent. It may be the only one on the planet where that is true.
As you can see, there are some significant differences between how India operates in regard to gambling. There are more, but this gives you a little more of an idea.