Indians flock to sites like Parimatch and Betaway in the absence of legal platforms in the country

Mahesh Kumar, a 27-year-old software engineer from Bengaluru, was bigtime into fantasy sports till last season of the Indian Premier League.

Then, he came to know about offshore betting companies like Parimatch and Betaway, which allowed him to place online bets on all kinds of sports - from cricket to football and Kabaddi to Ping Pong - something which no Indian company was allowed to do legally.

Today, many sports enthusiasts like Kumar are attracted towards these international betting platforms, where they are able to place bets in Indian currency. The Indian online betting market, as per one of the largest players, Parimatch, is close to Rs 6,000 crore and growing at more than 27% annually.

The company deals with the Indian market through its international website, Parimatch International chief executive Anton Rublevskyy told ET. "We conduct gambling activities based on the Curacao licensing service and offer cricket and other sports betting as well as live casinos, slots and virtual games. The higher number of digital citizens in India having access to a speedy and cheap internet connection contributes greatly to the fast growth of online betting and gambling."

Incidentally, the Indian gambling laws do not allow sports betting companies or betting sites in India to be operated from within the country. However, there is no such law for the companies outside India.

These offshore betting sites, which obtain licences from Curacao, Malta, and the Virgin Islands, are not prohibited in India as long as they adhere to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules and deal in the Indian currency.

Legal experts believe that online betting is not illegal in India, as there are no formal laws or Acts or official regulatory bodies.

"India lacks a comprehensive regulatory ecosystem vis-a-vis games of chance, like betting. Consequently, there is scope for betting companies to structure their operations in a manner that they can avoid legal action without evading the law," said Kaushik Moitra, partner at law firm Bharucha & Partners.

He, however, clarified that each gaming platform involving the element of chance must conduct appropriate legal diligence so that they were compliant with the law, both in letter and spirit.