India blocked over 8,000 offshore casino links, but players are increasingly circumventing the bans

By the end of March 2026, the Indian government had blocked 8,376 URLs linked to illegal online gambling. The large-scale campaign targets offshore gambling platforms and pursues a specific goal: to cut off unregulated money flows leaving the country’s jurisdiction. However, usage statistics for the banned resources tell a story far removed from any triumphalist narrative.

Record-high blocking by spring 2026

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology published data on the number of blocked resources. The ministry recorded a record figure: 8,376 websites and URLs were inaccessible within the country by the end of Q1 2026.

The campaign is massive and systematic in nature. The blocks affected thousands of domains operating without licenses from Indian regulators. Nevertheless, bans alone proved insufficient to turn the tide.

The audience for illegal platforms keeps growing despite the bans

The paradox is that increased pressure from the state coincided with rising user engagement. The more resources are blocked, the more actively the audience looks for—and finds—alternative access points to banned platforms. It’s like trying to dam a river—water immediately finds new channels.

This trend is especially clear at the city level, where statistics make it possible to assess the real scale of engagement.

Delhi as a mirror of the nationwide trend

The capital region has become a telling illustration of how the blocks can work “in reverse.” According to available data, key indicators changed as follows:

• The share of users visiting blocked sites rose from 68% to 82%.
• Daily player activity increased from 3.4% to 42.3%.

Such a sharp jump in Delhi demonstrates a persistent “despite the blocks” effect, where restrictive measures do not curb interest but rather fuel it.

Mirror sites and UPI allow players to retain access

The mechanics of circumventing restrictions are well known and do not require technical skills from users. Offshore platforms quickly create mirror sites, changing domains and URLs faster than the regulator can block them. At the same time, players use domestic payment tools, primarily UPI (Unified Payments Interface), which makes it possible to carry out transactions by bypassing key financial barriers and maintain full access to betting.

The market is estimated at $20 billion

Expert estimates put offshore online gambling turnover in India at around $20 billion. The figure reflects not only the popularity of gambling in a country of over 1.4 billion people, but also steady demand that is extremely difficult to suppress through administrative measures. The market’s size explains why both platforms and players show such persistence in seeking workarounds: the financial and technological channels are too sprawling to be cut off by a single set of blocks.

The Indian market attracts foreign operators

The market of the world’s most populous country naturally becomes a magnet for foreign gambling brands. To assess the scale of penetration, we compared the lists of operators present in India with comparable lists from other jurisdictions.

The result was unexpected: the greatest brand overlap is observed not with neighboring Asian markets, but with New Zealand. We found this coincidence while reviewing no-deposit offer aggregators in different countries, including the New Zealand site, which lists current no-deposit bonuses from dozens of online casinos. A similar picture emerges when comparing the markets of the United States and Canada. This overlap in operator lists suggests that offshore platforms operate from a global playbook, adapting the same brands to different regions. For Indian regulators, this means they are up against not individual sites, but a sprawling international infrastructure.

The state blocks, while users adapt faster

The situation with gambling in India highlights a typical problem in regulating digital markets. The state apparatus operates through bans and registries, while users and operators adapt through technology and flexible payment infrastructure. The speed of this adaptation consistently outpaces the pace of regulatory decision-making.

Pressure from the Indian authorities is expected to continue increasing. At the same time, offshore platforms and their audiences will multiply ways to circumvent restrictions, setting up a protracted and increasingly complex standoff with no clear end in sight.