In Chennai, before the Madras HC struck down the ban on online poker and rummy, a 33-year-old poker player told ET that he began downloading the non-real money gaming variations of the likes of JJPoker and PPPoker. Some are also using proxies residing outside their state to create accounts and bet on their behalf on fantasy apps to ensure they do not miss out on the cricket World Cup fever. In Telangana, among the states where fantasy gaming apps such as Dream11 are banned, enthusiasts are taking to the established, but illegal, channel of sports betting, experts said.

Upon joining, the group admin sends a message asking the player to pay through UPI the amount that he/she would like to bet.Īnother lawyer ET spoke to said he was approached by one such person who organised Ludo games out of Rajasthan and had made a thriving business out of it and was hoping to join one of the gaming industry bodies. One such group - Ludo King Betting Group India - has 16,121 members. This is because typically, Indian websites would not permit users belonging to, or located in, Telangana, Sikkim, Nagaland, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to play real money games on their platforms.Ĭasual games such as Ludo also have bets placed on them, with people playing strangers on Telegram groups.

So, someone in Telangana can mask their location and seem like they are logging in from Maharashtra,” said the lawyer. “VPN is another way that they manage to dodge scrutiny because it allows for the geolocation to be changed.

Is playing a game for money gambling