It is only natural to want to relax after a hard day. For some of the moneyed few, they prefer an adrenaline rush by engaging in gambling. Despite the legal bottlenecks, India has various gambling activities that you may pursue, the most convenient being casino games.
Categories of Casino Games
You will find three main categories of casino games:
1. Table games
The playing surface on most of these games lay on top of a table, hence the name. Examples of these kinds of games include:
- Card games – Poker, Baccarat, Blackjack
- Dice games – Sic Bo, Craps
- Wheel games – Roulette, Wheel of Fortune, Big Six Wheel
- Board games – Backgammon, Ludo
2. Gaming machine slots
These are standalone gaming cabinets that do not need the services of a gaming attendant to play. You go to a gaming cabinet, insert your money, chips, or code, and you are off to your gaming fantasy. For the online variety, they are known as video slots. Examples of gaming machine slots:
- Mega Moolah
- Book of Dead
- Gonzo’s Quest
3. Random ticket casino games
A random number generator, or some casino equipment, will produce a random number that will determine the winner in these games. The players choose a random number and await the decision of the machine to see if they match. They include:
- Keno
- Roulette
- Bingo
- Lotteries
Casinos
For the uninitiated, there are traditional and online casinos. You will find the traditional/conventional casinos in a physical location, often in brick-and-mortar building. On entry, you will find a gaming floor where you can play various games, be it a wheel, dice, or gaming cabinet, and you settle one of them for some fun times.
For the rapidly expanding online casinos, you can play games on your computer or handheld device. Most of the games use standardized Random Number Generators (RNG) to develop random outcomes for the video or slot games.
Online casinos, such as those found on CBL, have become innovative by introducing live casinos (where you can play a live casino game virtually) and 3D casinos that make a 3D rendering of existing games. They also incorporate betting like Cricket and sports betting, perfect solutions in these pandemic times.
Indian Casino Games
You will be pleasantly surprised to find that there are traditional Indian games that you can play in casinos, such as:
i) Teen Patti
One of the more popular games is the Teen Patti/Indian Flush game, a simple, 3-card variant of the popular poker card game.
ii) Papplu
Another game is Papplu or Indian Rummy, where you swap a card from a playing deck until you find the winning set.
iii) Andar Bahar
In the Andar Bahar or Katti game, you bet on the Andar or Bahar side to win. Other popular Indian card games you can play in casinos include Minu Flash and Maang Patta.
iv) Jhandi Munda
A popular dice game that involves rolling six dice with six different sides that contain different symbols.
v) Passa
Another popular dice game that uses two, four-sided numbered dice.
vi) Pachisi
Is India’s national board game, popularly ‘borrowed’ by the British who renamed it Ludo.
Other popular Indian games that may not have originated from India include Rashi Chakra, Keno, and Mah-jong.
Betting
Online casinos have introduced enticing features, like betting on sports, to increase gambling treats for enthusiasts. You can now bet on sports like:
- Cricket
- Soccer
- eSports
- Field hockey
Is gambling legal in India?
One of the thorny issues is whether gambling is legal in India. Physical casinos are only allowed on a state-to-state basis, while The Public Gambling Act of 1976 provides for offshore casinos.
Even though the law allows for online casinos, the online industry has no regulations. Your best bet is to use casinos that have registered their businesses in countries with stringent gaming laws such as the UK, Malta, and Sweden.
Withdrawing and depositing money in casinos
You will have to pay tax if you use foreign currency to deposit or withdraw money from online casinos. You can circumvent the limitations by using Indian Rupees in the casinos recommended in CBL above, with the best withdrawal options being digital wallet services such as:
- Neteller
- Skrill
- PayPal
- InstaDebit
- ecoPayz
- Qiwi
- Internet banking
- Netbanking