Source: Pexels
The revenue from online gambling in India doubled between 2014 and 2018 and is expected to spike to 118.8 billion rupees by 2023. These figures show that the Asian country is a prime location for developers and online casino operators to target in the coming years. The reason for the global revenue from online gambling flourishing is because major players in the industry have a knack for identifying and breaking into expanding markets, such as these. Indian players could soon find that a great number of the games are geared to their tastes.
There are numerous contributing factors as to why the online gambling industry in India is beginning to boom. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that smartphones are much more accessible to everyday users than they were ten years ago. As newer generations of Samsung and Apple mobile offerings have been released, the older models have become cheaper. The online casino industry has put a heavy focus on mobile gambling, and anyone with an internet connection and a device can now find places to play.
India has a bustling gaming industry, with a large number of youths getting into the eSports scene. Online casino operators are appreciative of the similarities between eSports and iGaming and are trying to maintain a strong link between the two. With horse racing and lotteries allowed in the country, some big players in the betting industry have managed to get a stranglehold. These companies may realize the need to offer eSports as well. If restrictions ease up on online gambling games as they are expected to, the operators are already poised to take advantage.
Progressive developers who are always looking at how games are evolving could stand to benefit from more interest in India. Currently, a lot of the games are geared towards Western markets. NetEnt, for instance, has games like Guns N’ Roses and Jumanji. Showcasing their games here, the Swedish developer also has offerings like Narcos and Piggy Riches, games that might not appeal to Indian audiences as much.
NetEnt is looking at ways to break into the Indian market, however. And throughout its history, the well-known slot developer has shown it has the ability to innovate. Instead of Hollywood blockbusters like Jumanji, the developer may choose to create slots based on the best-loved Bollywood movies like 3 Idiots or Mother India. Rather than make rock games like Guns N’ Roses in the NetEnt Rocks series, NetEnt could bring out a range of Punjabi music games perhaps. Kulwinder Dillon, Malkit Singh, and Babbu Maan could be good options for musical slot games that would appeal to Indian players.
One thing for certain is the fact that the Indian online gambling market is hard for developers and operators to ignore. In addition to appeasing their main bulk of fans in the west, developers from Europe and America now need to work out ways to get their games into this booming Asian market. This could bring about another stage in the evolution of slot games.
