India Blocks 7,800 Websites as Offshore Betting Traffic Rises

Indian Government Blocks 7,800 Sites Amid Rising Offshore Gambling Traffic

Jan 28th, 2026 Olga Li

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has intensified its crackdown on illegal online gaming, bringing the total number of blocked websites and links to over 7,800. Despite these extensive measures, recent traffic metrics indicate that offshore betting platforms continue to experience rising engagement. Industry data reveals a persistent "whack-a-mole" scenario where illegal operators are able to regenerate mirror domains with similar names within just hours of being blocked, ensuring their business remains largely unaffected.

Surging Traffic and Regulatory Gaps

Data from the final quarter of 2025 highlights significant gaps in current enforcement. Mirrored versions of prominent brands like 1xbet and Parimatch attracted between 228,000 and 300,000 monthly Indian visits respectively. Global platforms like Stake reported that India accounts for over 13.4% of their total traffic, ranking second only to Canada. Another offshore operator, Fairplay, logged over 225,000 global visits during the same period, with India accounting for a staggering 88% of that total.

Legal experts suggest the success of these platforms is partly due to a regulatory vacuum, as the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) has still not been formally brought into force, five months after being passed by Parliament. This delay underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive gambling guide for India to establish clear domestic boundaries. Furthermore, offshore entities maintain their operations by utilizing crypto-assets and "mule accounts" to facilitate complex monetary transactions, rendering traditional payment-level controls ineffective against large-scale illegal domain farming and aggressive digital promotion.

Unintended Behavioral Shifts

A survey conducted by CUTS International among 1,000 users in Delhi NCR analyzed behavioral patterns specifically during the period before and after PROGA was passed by Parliament. The findings confirm that the prohibition did not reduce gaming behavior but instead shifted it toward darker, less regulated international entities. According to the study, while 11% of users discontinued gaming, a significant 25% of respondents began using offshore betting apps only after the domestic ban took effect.

The intensity of engagement and spending among players in India has escalated dramatically following the enforcement actions:

Daily Usage: Access to offshore platforms rose from 3.4% pre-ban to 42% post-ban.
Session Duration: The number of users spending over two hours per session increased from 3.4% to 44%.
Monthly Spend: The segment spending between ₹5,000 and ₹9,999 surged to 26.2%. Notably, a new high-spending category (over ₹10,000) emerged, now representing 13.5% of users—a demographic that did not exist prior to the ban.

Challenges for the Domestic Industry

Industry leaders, including the Skill Online Games Institute (SOGI), argue that categorical bans are "lazy governance" that primarily harms transparent domestic companies. These measures inadvertently benefit offshore operators based in jurisdictions like Cyprus or Estonia. Critics maintain that without holding social media platforms like Telegram and Instagram accountable for promotional activities, URL blocking remains a superficial measure. The data suggests that enforcement without active regulation strengthens illegal operators, leading to substantial losses in national tax revenue and a decline in consumer safety.