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Multi-state survey of 3,000 users shows time and money shifted to unregulated foreign platforms instead of declining
New Delhi, 09 March 2026: India’s nationwide ban on domestic online real-money gaming has not reduced money-based gaming. Instead, it has triggered a large-scale shift of players toward offshore and unregulated platforms, according to a new multi-state study by CUTS International.
Based on survey data from 3,000 former real-money gaming users across Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, the report, “Behavioural Reallocation after the Online Gaming Ban: A Multi-State Survey-Based Analysis” finds that the prohibition has changed where people gamble, not whether they gamble.
The study documents a clear behavioural reallocation: users have migrated from regulated domestic platforms to offshore operators that lie outside India’s regulatory and consumer-protection framework.
Combined Data Shows 18 Percentage-Point Increase in Offshore Usage
Across the consolidated sample of 3,000 respondents, offshore platform usage rose from 67.6% before the ban to 85.6% after the PROG Act, an increase of 539 users or roughly 18 percentage points. The aggregated data reinforces the state-level findings that the ban has redirected users toward offshore platforms rather than reducing money-based gaming activity. While Delhi NCR and Tamil Nadu recorded increases of approximately 14–15 percentage points, Maharashtra saw a larger shift of 25 percentage points, highlighting notable regional differences in the scale of behavioural reallocation.
Offshore Gaming Surges After the Ban
Across all three states studied, offshore platform usage rose sharply after the ban:
- Delhi NCR: from 68.3% before the ban to 82.0% after
- Tamil Nadu: from 67.8% to 83.0%
- Maharashtra: from 66.7% to 91.7%
Relative to pre-ban levels, offshore participation expanded by:
- 20.1% in Delhi NCR
- 22.4% in Tamil Nadu
- 37.5% in Maharashtra
The evidence points to users migrating to unregulated offshore platforms: Once domestic platforms shut down, offshore platforms became the default destination for continued money-based gaming.
“The consolidated findings across Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra suggest that the prohibition has not resulted in a widespread exit from money-based online gaming,” said Mr. Amol Kulkarni, Director (Research), CUTS International. “Instead, the evidence points to a clear behavioural reallocation toward offshore betting platforms that operate outside India’s regulatory oversight. What is particularly notable is that the intensity of engagement including spending levels, session duration, and frequency of play, appears to have migrated alongside users. In effect, behavioural patterns that were previously concentrated on regulated domestic platforms are now increasingly visible on offshore platforms. The optimal way forward is to adopt a balanced regulatory approach that strengthens consumer protection, responsible gaming safeguards, and enforcement while exploring broader measures to address potential harms.”
High-Intensity Gaming Patterns Persist in the Offshore Market
Before the ban, high spending and long gaming sessions were concentrated on regulated Indian platforms. Offshore gaming existed but largely at low intensity.
After the ban, that structure flipped.
The study finds:
- Daily offshore gaming jumped from about 2–3% before the ban to over 40% across states.
- Long gaming sessions (over two hours) rose from under 4% to more than 40%.
- High-spending categories (₹5,000+, ₹10,000+, and ₹25,000+ per month) expanded sharply on offshore platforms.
In short, the behavioural markers of intensive gambling, frequency, duration, and spending did not decline. They were reallocated to offshore platforms operating beyond India’s regulatory jurisdiction.
Younger and Lower-Income Users Now More Exposed
The report highlights a widening of exposure in the post-ban environment.
Key shifts include:
- The 18–24 age group shows the fastest relative growth in offshore spending across multiple value brackets.
- Lower-income households, previously concentrated in minimal offshore spending, now appear in higher offshore spending tiers in some states.
- The 25–34 age group accounts for the largest absolute volume of offshore migration.
This redistribution raises consumer-protection concerns, as money-based gaming is increasingly occurring among younger users and financially vulnerable groups outside any domestic grievance-redress or oversight system.
“Same Games, Same Payments — Different Jurisdiction”
Qualitative interviews conducted as part of the study reveal why users moved offshore.
Respondents consistently cited:
- Continued access to familiar games
- Easy discovery through Telegram and WhatsApp groups
- Use of mainstream payment methods such as UPI and bank transfers
- Perception that offshore platforms were already known and trusted
Users described their shift as a practical response to the disappearance of domestic platforms rather than a preference for foreign operators. Offshore gaming was seen as a way to “continue as before”.
The migration, the report notes, reflects substitution rather than transformation, old habits continuing in a new regulatory location.
Implications for Policy and Enforcement
The study finds that the ban has reshaped the geography of gaming rather than eliminating it. Money-based gaming activity now sits increasingly in offshore ecosystems that are harder to monitor and regulate.
This raises questions around:
- Consumer protection and grievance redress
- Financial exposure and risk monitoring
- Transparency of payment pathways
- Long-term sustainability of enforcement through blocking alone
The report cautions that in digitally open markets, prohibitive regulation without parallel legal alternatives may redirect behaviour rather than suppress it.
