Indian report claims 1.6 billion black market site visits in Q4
All India Gaming Federation’s Roland Landers claims a central regulatory framework would stop illegal operators, with research from the Digital India Foundation adding that payment and marketing blocks would curb growth
All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) CEO Roland Landers has called for a central regulatory framework in India after a report into the country’s black market claimed there were 1.6 billion visits to illegal betting sites between October and December 2024.
The Gambling and Betting Market report, conducted by the Digital India Foundation, analysed web traffic from four unlicensed operators: Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet and Batery Bet.
It found that despite government action, including website blocking, illegal operators were still able to “thrive” using several evasion methods including mirror sites and “seamless payment processing”.
Those four sites had a combined 1.6 billion visits in the last three months of 2024, with the website pari-match-in.com leading the way with 1.2 billion visits.
Next up was stake.bet with 211.2 million visits, battery-bet.in with 118.2 million visits and 1xbetind.in with 79.3 million visits.
The report also observed major spikes during the Indian Premier League (IPL) season in March and April across a four-year span between 2021 and 2024, with users searching for Dafabet, 1xBet, 4rabet and Khelo24bet.
It also found that via digital advertising, social media drove 42.8 million visits to the four illegal operators in the space of four months, via direct paid adverts on Facebook Ad Network and social media campaigns.
Referral traffic generated 247.5 million visits from affiliates, adult sites and banners on sports and streaming platforms, while one billion visits came from users directly entering URLs – which, the report said, indicated “success of past marketing efforts”.
Offering a solution, the report suggested combining website blocking with marketing restrictions and halting payments, as it referred to the success markets such as Norway, Denmark and the UK.
Illegal operators offered several payment options including debit and credit cards, e-wallets, crypto and even Google Pay.
On the black market, the report did state that quantifying its true size can be difficult due to “several methodological intricacies” such as finding reliable data.
Addressing the report on LinkedIn, CEO Landers said it “ highlights critical regulatory gaps that demand immediate attention” and that the AIGF has repeatedly called for a central regulatory framework for years.
He wrote: “Illegal online gambling continues to pose significant challenges to India’s digital economy, financial security and consumer protection.
“Despite repeated advisory and other regulatory efforts, these platforms persist, leveraging sophisticated digital marketing, payment networks and offshore jurisdictions to operate undetected and at scale.
“We at the All India Gaming Federation have been advocating for a central regulatory framework for [the] past many years.
“A uniform national law is the only way to curb illegal operators, protect users and also allow India’s gaming industry to thrive globally,” Landers concluded.
In an effort to better protect India’s gambling ecosystem, the AIFG has signed a joint Code of Ethics (CoE) alongside the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and the country’s E-Gaming Federation.
The CoE will seek to establish industry-wide standards for responsible gambling, player protection and transparency.
This includes age-gating, know your customer (KYC) policies, fair play frameworks and responsible advertising, as well as annual third-party audits to maintain compliance and credibility.
Landers added: “As India’s oldest and largest industry body, All India Gaming Federation has always been at the forefront of driving responsible gaming, industry best practices and regulatory excellence.
“This Code of Ethics reaffirms our commitment to fair play, compliance and a player first approach.
“With this, we are taking another step toward making India a global gaming powerhouse, built on trust, innovation and responsible growth.”
The signing of the CoE follows last month’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Advertising standards Council of India, FIFS, EGF and AIGF.