Meta, Google must help combat India’s illegal gambling, betting mkt: Study

Big tech firms like Meta and Google must play a significant role in dismantling India’s fast-growing illegal online gaming sector, according to a report by the Digital India Foundation, a not-for-profit think tank.

The illegal gambling and betting ecosystem in India operates through a sophisticated digital network, leveraging online advertisements, social media, messaging platforms, and payment technologies such as cryptocurrency. This illegal sector exceeds $100 billion annually and is growing at 30 per cent per year, driven by rising digital adoption, technological advancements, and regulatory uncertainty.

The report, titled ‘Illegal gambling and betting market in India: the scale and enablers,’ analysed digital platform policies and found that while strict regulations exist for paid advertisements, enforcement remains inconsistent.

Scale of illegal gambling in India

According to the report, the scale of illegal gambling and betting in India is staggering, with 1.6 billion visits recorded between October and December 2024 across four analysed platforms—Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet, and Battery Bet.

An analysis of traffic sources showed that social media alone drove 42.8 million visits to these platforms during the three-month period. This traffic was largely generated through direct paid advertisements from the Facebook ad network, influencer marketing, promoted content, and engagement campaigns.

Need for a comprehensive crackdown

Given the enormity of the problem, the report recommends a comprehensive strategy, including assigning liability to key enablers of the illegal market—such as Google and Meta—and enforcing strict compliance requirements.

“To effectively address this concerning issue, relying solely on website blocking is not enough,” said Arvind Gupta, head and co-founder, Digital India Foundation. “A broader strategy is needed—one that targets the entire ecosystem enabling illegal betting and gambling. This includes cracking down on user acquisition via advertising, payment operators, and software providers supporting these platforms.”

The Indian government has attempted to curb these activities through website blocking and official advisories, but these measures alone have had limited impact, as illegal operators continuously adapt to evade enforcement.

The report recommends that key government departments—the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)—should collaborate with digital ad intermediaries, social media platforms, search engines, and ad networks to proactively monitor, flag, and remove illegal gambling-related advertisements.

Global approach to illegal gambling regulation

Internationally, regulators actively collaborate with digital ad and social media platforms to monitor content and implement mechanisms to flag illegal gambling material, including user-generated content, the report stated.

In India, a review of government documents analysing the modus operandi of illegal betting platforms reveals that their core strategy is attracting and retaining users through aggressive, exaggerated advertising campaigns.

According to ASCI’s half-yearly report for 2024-25, illegal betting and gambling advertisements have surged across digital media in new formats, further complicating enforcement.

Illegal operators leverage search and referral traffic

Google Search trends from February 2021 to December 2024 show an exponential rise in searches for platforms such as Dafabet, 1xBet, Parimatch, 4rabet, and Khelo24Bet, with major spikes during Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons (March-April) in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Beyond search, illegal operators use aggressive search engine optimisation (SEO) tactics to rank highly for queries like “best IPL betting site” and “online casino without KYC,” ensuring maximum visibility and attracting new users. Indexed resources and links keep these websites easily accessible, even to users who may unintentionally stumble upon them while searching for related content.

Additionally, referral traffic contributed 247.5 million visits to illegal gambling sites—primarily from adult sites, sports-related websites, streaming services, and file-sharing platforms.