As of October 1st, 2023, Betway decided to close its operations in India. Users visiting the site from India are seeing this message:
Dear Betway customers.
We regrettably have elected to cease trading in your region. We will work with you to return any outstanding balances.
If you have an account you would like to discuss please contact us at [email protected] and include your username.
The decision has been taken as the Indian government is processing its new Goods and Services Tax, which is effective from 1 October 2023 onwards.
Goods and Services Tax Council (GST) applied the tax to companies deemed to be providing gambling services, regardless of location or domicile.
The GST applies a 28% turnover tax on all services for online gambling in India, land-based casinos and horse racing.
“The newly effective tax rules make the Indian market no longer commercially viable for Betway” – a statement from Betway.
However, Betway exiting the market is not the first – Bet365 left the market just a month ago. Despite these actions, there are still a lot of offshore gambling sites that are serving Indians, with Betwinner, 1xBet and Megapari leading the pack, followed by one of the most legit Indian betting sites, 10cric.
Betting and gaming is a grey area in India, with no federal legislation existing to regulate the sector on a national level, although online gambling is permitted by some regional regulations in some states, notably Goa, Sikkim, Nagaland and Daman.
