Explore Poker in India: Events, Laws and Tourism in 2025
The most recent (August 2025) changes in online gaming legislation, India gambling laws prohibit and criminalize all forms of online gaming. Poker in India is undergoing changes at present. You can find out more on this topic in a section below, but first of all, we’ll take a closer look at live poker, venues, and crypto casinos that continue to serve players.
Influenced by both Eastern and Western cultures, India has a huge history in many different card games (Gin, Bridge), and even created some of its own. In 2006, Teen Patti, a poker variant, began gaining popularity in India.
How did poker get so popular in India?
Many experts agree that India was the largest and fastest-growing online gambling market in the world. Nearly a million people played online for real money on a regular basis, as poker in India became more popular than ever, despite uncertainty surrounding its legal landscape. This gambling craze is particularly true during the times of festivals such as Deepawali and Holi, where the gambling business grows by 30-40% in India.
The creation of a Global Poker League in India , with teams representing cities across the country, was also a favorable indicator for the development of poker in India, while local clubs continued to attract more players.
Online Poker in India
How have Online Laws of Poker in India Changed?
Technically, online poker has been illegal on a federal level in India since August 2025. Poker in India goes through a massive change, with only the live poker scene remaining untouched.
The last act of legislation, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, came into effect in August 2025, which bans all real-money gaming, including poker and fantasy sports, from being operated legally within the country. While offering, enabling, or promoting online poker in India is heavily penalized financially and can even face jail time, users are treated as victims, not offenders.
As per BBC’s article on the topic, before the general ban, India had around 400 RMG startups that generated nearly $2.3bn in annual taxes and supported more than 200,000 jobs in the country. One of them, Dream11, even sponsored India’s cricket team.
The sector of poker in India has long faced scrutiny, with states like Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana already enforcing their own bans. In 2023, the federal government slapped a 28% tax on online gaming bets.
Yet, the industry has flourished, attracting significant global investments and celebrity endorsements, but that flourishing ecosystem collapsed in an instant.
However, consumers and brands were thriving in the country, both being quite confident that the law would be on their side, based on the Supreme Court of India’s decision, which ruled that poker in India is a “game of skill“. All major poker sites should cease offering online poker in India.
India’s average Internet Speed is 3.5 Mbps, with a lot of disparity across the country, but it’s usually sufficient to play online poker. A VPN is recommended.
Natural8in.com, one of the most trusted online poker platforms for thousands in India, also had to join leading domestic operators in stopping all services to comply with the new regulations.
Where to play online poker in India?
Poker Sites Still Serving Indian Poker Players
While domestic regulated sites exit the market, players of poker in India can still access several offshore platforms operating outside Indian jurisdiction, so some online poker sites in India might still be possible to play in:
- CoinPoker: Accessible to Indian users through cryptocurrency. Crypto poker platform offering anonymous play and a generous bonus.
- ACR Poker (Americas Cardroom): Accepting Indian players. Part of the Winning Poker Network, with a wide variety of poker games and tournaments, and mobile app support.
- Stake : Also offering poker in India, due to its offshore and crypto-friendly framework, this crypto-focused gambling site remains operational for Indian users.
Best Online Poker Sites in India
Live Poker in India
in India
India’s gambling laws are quite restrictive and apply everywhere in the country.
The most important law regarding real-money gaming in India is the federal Public Gambling Act of 1867, which prohibits anyone from operating a public gaming house or being present in such an establishment.
However, if, according to the Supreme Court of India, games of chance are illegal, skill-based games are legal, leaving room for the development of the poker industry. In other decisions, the High Courts of Karnataka and Calcutta have noted that police/law enforcement authorities cannot interfere in the game of poker in India. Another important document is the Information Technology Act of 2000, which distinguishes between casino games and card games.
Moreover, as India is a federal state, local legislators may create favorable law environments for gambling & poker, which is, for instance, the case of two states in particular: Goa and Sikkim.
Throughout the entire country of India, some laws do, however, apply uniformly. As such, the minimum legal gambling age is 18 everywhere. Additionally, regarding taxes, players are required to pay a 28% income tax on all winnings.
Live Poker Venues in India
While there are no legal casinos in most of India, Goa is home to a total of seven land-based casinos, as well as several offshore ones. You can play poker in at least four of them: Casino Pride, Casino Royale, Casino Carnivale, and Casino Goa.
Sikkim state welcomes two land-based casinos where you can play poker: Casino Sikkim & Casino Mahjong.
A third state, the state of Daman, is expected to start operations in the next few years.
Foreigners and Indians are allowed to enter casinos and legal poker clubs.
Among many world-famous Indian players, such as the top 1 on the all-time Indian money list, Santhosh Suvarna ($ 18.9 M in tournament winnings), it is worth mentioning Nikita Luther, who was the first Indian woman to win a bracelet at the WSOP in 2018.
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