The CUTS study has found that the ban has simply changed where gamblers play, not whether they play at all. The ban appears to have driven a lot of users over to sites operated from abroad, and these platforms often lack the same consumer safeguards that their Indian counterparts have. As a result, questions about enforcement, player protection, and payment access arise.
Offshore Platforms Took the Space Local Operators Lost
CUTS International has been digging into the issue, and its report is based on a survey of 3,000 users in Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. The key finding is that many players stopped using local gaming sites after the PROG Act came in and switched to overseas operators.
The numbers in this report basically speak for themselves: 82% of players in Delhi NCR, 83% in Tamil Nadu, and 92% in Maharashtra are now using international sites. An 18 percentage point increase in offshore participation has been recorded since the ban was brought in, and Maharashtra has seen the biggest jump of all.
This is important because the original goal of the policy was to limit access to real-money gaming. The report, however, says that the real-world outcome has been different. Domestic operators lost ground, but demand didn’t disappear.
Amol Kulkarni, the Director of Research at CUTS, called this a change in the geography of gaming. He also warned that a blanket ban might not be shrinking the market but rather moving it to other places.
Riskier Play Patterns Are Also Moving Offshore
The report does not stop at the migration figures. It also points out that riskier play patterns are now more visible at offshore platforms.
While frequent play and higher spending were more visible on Indian websites before the ban was implemented, CUTS highlights that this trend has now reversed. Daily play at offshore websites, which was earlier at 2% to 3%, has now increased to over 40%. The number of sessions lasting more than 2 hours has also climbed to over 40%. Growth in higher monthly spend, including users spending ₹25,000 or more at overseas sites, is also noted in the report.
The trend of increased spending is of significant concern, as it appears to be particularly visible among the younger adults and those who are of lower income levels. The report also mentions that this trend is increasing the fastest among those aged 18-24 years. Low-income users, according to CUTS, are engaging with a market where grievance handling and responsible gaming practices may be weak or absent.
Discovery and Payments Remain Easy
One reason why the ban has had trouble, according to the qualitative component of the study, is that access is not difficult to find. As respondents noted, foreign platforms can be found with ease through Telegram and WhatsApp groups.
Payment for these accounts also seems to be a relatively simple process. According to the report, mainstream options like UPI have helped users to keep gambling with ease, despite the tightened restrictions within the country. If discovery remains easy and payments stay accessible, bans may continue to push the market outside without reducing demand at the source.
In market terms, the CUTS study findings suggest a policy gap rather than a clean enforcement victory. A ban may remove local operators from the legal space, but this does not necessarily mean that the product is no longer in the digital economy.
