Cricket Betting Online From India

Indians looking to bet cricket online can use www.bet365.com which accepts deposits, offers withdrawals, and takes bets in Indian Rupee INR currency. If you’re looking for the best methods to deposit and withdrawal – refer to my page on Indian betting sites, where I discuss RBI policy on cross border debit card transactions and international wire transfers.

Betting Indian Cricket Online

Obviously the latest betting craze in India is the Premier League, which you can read about in my article on 2015 IPL Cricket Betting. Of course, Twenty20 cricket is popular for both IPL and Champions League, but there are plenty of other cricket competitions that can be bet online. These include Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs), major international competitions such as the Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy, and domestic competitions Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Deodhar Trophy, the Irani Trophy and the Challenger Series.

Although Bet365 is best because they accept Indian rupee currency, offer mobile betting, and have live in-play betting on most cricket matches, there are other betting sites to consider as well. For example Betfair is a peer to peer betting exchange where great odds can be found for both prematch and in-play betting. You can learn about them in my article titled Betfair Explained. Other online bookies decent for betting cricket include www.ladbrokes.com and PaddyPower.

Is Cricket Betting Legal in India?

The answer to this question is no. If you’re caught placing bets with local bookies you risk a small Rs. 100 fine and up to one month in prison for a first offense. Even with this risk, local market research suggests Indians wager in excess of Rs. 3 lakh crore annually with local bookies, and bet even larger amounts online with foreign bookmakers.

The reason foreign internet bookmakers are ideal is because many of them are licensed abroad in the European Union, are reputable and service Indian punters. Although the law is not clear in all Indian states, there has been little to no evidence law enforcement is at all concerned with Indians who bet from the privacy of their own home, using an internet connection to access bookmakers who operate legally in foreign markets.

Why Such a Craze, Despite the Risks?

Cricket has long been India’s most popular sport. Its earliest days date back to the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay (now Mumbai) established in 1848. Perhaps the most influential time in early Indian cricket history was the Bombay Quadrangular tournaments held from 1912 to 1936. In this tournament racial differences were finally put aside as an English team, Parsi team, Hindu team and Muslim team battled it out for supreme cricket bragging rights. Buddhist, Jews and Indian Christians were added in 1937 called “The Rest”.

Cricket in India is about pride. In 1947 there was a growing push for India independence. As the political movement was about unity and not divide caused by competition, this was the year the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Bombay Pentangular had been cancelled and would be replaced with a zonal competition. Of course on 26th January 1950 India officially became a nation, and while not it’s official sport (field hockey takes that position) cricket has long since been the sport that brought a nation together as one.

Meanwhile, gambling is deeply engrained into Indian culture as well. It’s mentioned in the oldest surviving religious text the Vedas, and also is a pivotal part of the great Indian epic Mahabharata from period 1500 B.C.E. So, with a sport that captivates and brings pride to the nation, it only makes sense many Indians love to place wagers on it. So long as India continues to excel at cricket and there are legitimate foreign bookmakers willing to take the bests – cricket betting in India will continue to flourish.