India is one of the biggest Gambling markets. There are over 1.4 billion people, a young mobile-first population, and a sports-obsessed culture that made iGaming explode in popularity in just a few years.
In this guide, the RichAds team breaks down all the peculiarities of Gambling advertising in India so that you can capitalize on this massive, highly profitable market.
Disclaimer:
This material is provided for informational purposes only and intended for individuals 18 years or older (or the legal age in your jurisdiction). It is not an encouragement to participate in gambling.
Gambling involves legal and financial risks — ensure your actions are legal. It’s recommended to follow responsible gambling principles.
We accept no responsibility for the outcomes of using this information or for materials/services on third-party websites.
Regulatory rules for Gambling ads in India in 2026
As of 2026, Gambling advertising is illegal in India. Since September 2025, the government has banned online money gaming outright, and advertising it is a criminal offense.
At its peak, India’s online Gambling market generated over $2 billion a year, with tens of millions of users placing bets on cricket, casino games, and fantasy sports. It’s exactly the kind of scale affiliates chase: massive traffic volumes, high engagement, and an audience that’s always looking for the next thing to play.
But in 2026, the rules for Gambling advertising in India have changed completely, and the old playbook no longer applies. On 1 May 2026, a new regulator, the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI), was created to oversee the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which completely bans all real-money games.
Offering or facilitating an online money game can result in up to 3 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹1 crore. Posting Gambling ads in India can mean up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to ₹50 lakh.
Legal Gambling advertising in India
Two categories don’t fall under the current restrictions:
- E-sports — organized, multiplayer competitive gaming recognized under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, where outcomes depend purely on skill, and there’s no betting or wagering involved.
- Online social games — casual games played for entertainment, recreation, or learning, which may charge a flat subscription or access fee but cannot involve stakes or wagers tied to winnings.
So while you legally can’t run Gambling ads targeting India for Betting sites, online casinos, or paid fantasy sports, you still have an opportunity to drive Indian traffic to your offers. Reputable ad networks like RichAds provide ad formats, traffic volume, and monetization mechanics well-suited to this GEO.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Target audience for online Gambling ads in India
The underlying audience that used to gamble online in India is still there and still highly engaged with sports and competitive gaming.
According to Blask’s market data, most Indian users play to earn money. However, there is a large pool of players who consider Sports Betting and casino games an entertainment and a means to pass the time.
The Indian audience wants competition, quick engagement, and a sense of skill or strategy, which your Gambling ads should reflect.
On demographics, India’s broader gaming population is mobile-first and young: about 90% of gamers use smartphones as their primary device, and engagement is strongest among users under 35.
North India currently accounts for the largest regional share of engagement in skill-gaming and fantasy formats.
Tips for affiliates: target mobile-first male users aged 18–34. Build your campaigns with a strong focus on cricket and schedule them around big tournaments (IPL, ICC events, ISL).
Popular brands in India’s iGaming space
Top brands showing the highest consumer interest and visibility in India’s iGaming market are:
- Parimatch
- Winmatch
- 4RABET
- Dafabet
- Stake.
They are offshore-licensed sportsbook and casino brands that continue to attract Indian traffic despite the ban. However, it’s illegal.
For a compliant alternative, the biggest legal names to know are the major fantasy sports and e-sports platforms that have restructured around free-to-play and skill-based formats:
- Dream11
- My11Circle
- MPL (Mobile Premier League).
They remain the dominant brands by user base. Moreover, all three offer iGaming affiliate programs centered on their legal, non-monetary products.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Top traffic sources for running Betting and Casino ads in India
Overall, India is a classic Tier 3 GEO, and you can use the same ad formats that made Gambling campaigns work in similar regions. At the RichAds ad network, we recommend testing four options for India:
Pre-roll video ads
Pre-roll ads autoplay before main content and are ideal for showcasing gameplay, tournament highlights, and app walkthroughs. They convert especially well for casino games and sports events.
RichAds delivers over 20M daily impressions across pre-roll inventory in India, sourced directly from streaming content publishers. The average pre-roll CPM prices in India are $0.065.
Popunder ads
Pop ads deliver mass reach at a low CPM. They are useful for awareness campaigns and testing multiple creative angles.
RichAds generates 2.53M impressions on pops in India, with an average CPM price of $0.97.
Push ads
Push notification ads reach users who’ve already opted in, giving you higher intent. Push traffic is cheap and performs particularly well timed around match days and tournament kickoffs.
The RichAds ad network delivers 83.4M impressions for Gambling push ads in India, with an average CPC of $0.019.
Direct click ads
It’s a simple, high-volume format that sends users straight to your offer landing page. Domain traffic works for quick-conversion funnels, ensuring minimal friction.
The price is higher than for other formats – an average CPM in India is $11.29 – but the performance is also better. Direct click ads on RichAds convert at 10 times the rate of popunders.
All four formats are less affected by advertising restrictions, making them a reliable base for scaling India’s Gambling ad traffic.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Best creatives for Gambling advertising in India
The Indian audience is young, cricket-obsessed, and used to slick, fast-moving app ads, so anything generic or slow to make its point gets scrolled past.
Common angles that work:
- Skill and strategy focus. Messages like “Prove your cricket IQ” or “Build your dream team” keep you compliant and match audience intent.
- Urgent accent. Tie creatives to real match schedules (IPL, ICC tournaments, ISL) and add urgency-led messages like “Last chance to make a winning bet”.
- Social proof and community. Show user counts or leaderboard rankings. You can also mention the support for the India team to awaken the community spirit.
- Big numbers. Bonuses, jackpots, and large winning amounts help attract Indian gamblers’ attention. People there play to earn money, so showing actual numbers works exceptionally well.
Examples of Betting ads in India
- Feature real sports visuals focused on specific matches or local Indian team.
- Keep your ads simple with a clear message, a short sign up form, and a visible CTA.
Examples of Casino ads in India
- Localize creatives with regional languages and local culture references.
- Use bold, high-contrast colors like red, green, gold, and blue.
India Gambling advertising tips for affiliates
India isn’t a simple market to crack right now. Between the legal shift and the sheer size and diversity of the audience, it’s easy to waste budget if you’re not careful.
To help you get the maximum out of online Gambling advertising in India, we’ve pulled together some practical tips:
- Mix formats by funnel stage. Use pop ads for broad, cheap awareness; run push ads for urgent, real-time messages; launch pre-roll campaigns to build trust with video proof; use direct click for the fastest, lowest-friction conversions.
- Tie campaigns to live sports moments. Cricket dominates engagement in India. Time your campaigns around IPL, international series, and other major tournaments for the biggest traffic spikes.
- Optimize for mobile first. With the majority of India’s gaming audience on smartphones, all creatives and landing pages must be mobile-optimized. Target mobile devices first, then add desktop campaigns to drive additional traffic.
- Test aggressively. Run 5–10 creative variants at once, testing angles, headlines, and CTAs to find what resonates with your audience.
- Set up proper tracking. Use an S2S postback tracker (Voluum, Keitaro, BeMob, RedTrack) to measure performance in real time and optimize faster.
- Use RichAds’ Premium sources. Ask your account manager for whitelists that have performed well for Gambling ad campaigns in India. You can also target Premium traffic sources to run only high-quality traffic from the start.
- Leverage automation tools. On the RichAds ad network, you can use tools such as Target CPA, Performance Mode, and Automated Rules to keep campaigns optimized without manual intervention.
Now, you can skip the trial-and-error and get straight to running campaigns that actually perform.
Conclusion
India is still one of the largest and most engaged Gambling markets in the world. Even though casino and Betting ads in India are banned, affiliates can run traffic for e-sports and skill-based gaming platforms.
A campaign built on quality traffic from the RichAds ad platform, with compliant creatives and solid optimization, will still perform very well and deliver high ROI.
Leverage RichAds’ Premium publisher base, deep targeting options, ad format variety, and experienced support team to launch and scale India Gambling advertising campaigns the right way.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
FAQ on Gambling traffic in India
No. Since 2025, advertising online money games, including casino games, Betting, and paid fantasy sports, has been illegal in India under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Advertisers can face up to 2 years in prison and fines up to ₹50 lakh.
Pre-roll video, popunder, push, and direct click ads are the most effective and scalable formats. Affiliates can run all four on the RichAds ad network.
Under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, advertising any online money game is a criminal offense, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to ₹50 lakh, regardless of whether the advertiser or platform is based in India or offshore.
Legally, they can’t. To comply with the new regulations, some brands shifted to free-to-play or non-monetary formats.
In other words, Gambling advertising in India is only allowed for operators with offers where no real-money Betting or wagering is involved.
The RichAds ad network experts provide these tips:
- Target mobile-first users aged 18–34 and time campaigns around major sports moments when engagement peaks.
- Run push and direct click for high-intent and fast conversions, and use pop and pre-roll ads for low-cost reach testing and brand awareness.
- Test multiple creative variants at once, track everything with an S2S postback tool, and optimize based on real performance data.
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