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In recent years, betting on cricket and other sports online, as well as partaking in other forms of online gambling has been on the rise in India. But as this form of wagering money is still a new phenomenon altogether, there are many new and novice players who are unaware of things that can significantly improve the experience. Thus, we have created this article with 7 powerful tips you should know about.
1. Prefer E-Wallets and UPI Over Debit Cards
Even though debit cards tend to be convenient to use for any type of purchase, they are anything but the optimal choice for online gambling in India. Because gambling is such a controversial topic, it is not uncommon for gambling transactions with debit cards to be obstructed. Either the transaction won’t go through at all, or it does go through, but doesn’t reach the gambling site. It gets stuck along the way.
This will not always happen, but if you have the option to deposit with UPI or an e-Wallet such as Skrill, Neteller, Muchbetter or ecoPayz, that is a much better choice.
2. Choose a Bookmaker That Support Rupees
There are hundreds and hundreds of betting sites and online casinos that you can play at from India. You’re spoilt for choice and should use this to your advantage. One of the things that are recommended to look for is if rupees is supported as an account currency. With many sites you will only find USD or Euro.
Why this is important is because if you deposit money from a bank account or e-Wallet where the funds are stored in Rupees into a gambling account where the funds are stored in another currency, you will have to pay a fee. In the long run, this will result in a lot of unnecessary costs.
3. Highly Consider Claiming Bonus Offers
All betting sites and online casinos offer bonuses to new players and more often than not, they also offer regular bonuses to active players. A common offer is receiving extra money as you make a deposit. For instance, if you deposit ₹5,000, you may receive ₹5,000 extra. There are also other types of promotions, such as receiving money back on net losses and partaking in competitions with various prizes.
Generally speaking, it is always a good idea to claim these offers as they will provide you with an extra value which will increase your long-term chances of becoming profitable.
4. Always Read the Terms and Conditions
As much as bonus offers tend to be profitable to use, they all come with terms and conditions which are very important to know about. I won’t go into detail about all of them, but to give you an example, a wagering requirement is very common to find.
This may say that any bonus you receive has to be wagered 10 times before it can be cashed out. Not only that, but for the wagering to count, you must also place bets that have a minimum odd of 1.70. Usually, there is also a time limit in which this needs to be fulfilled and if not, the bonus is lost.
Generally speaking, the worst thing that can happen is that you lose the bonus money and any money that was won from using the bonus funds. However, if you are unaware of this happening, this is bad enough. Thus, you should always be aware of the conditions that a bonus comes with to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
5. Check If You Already Have an Account
You must know that all gambling sites have strict policies of only allowing one account. Not only per person, but also per household and IP-address. If they find multiple accounts on the same IP, they might close your account and withhold any winnings you’ve made, only giving you your deposit back. This is anything but fun to experience and the reason why many people make claims of betting sites scamming them.
As a general rule of thumb, it is therefore a good idea to check with the support beforehand if an account has been registered on your IP or address. You should also refrain from using public networks when signing up, as well as VPNs as it is then likely for multiple accounts to be found on the same IP.
6. Be Aware of Your State Laws
In most Indian states it is not a problem to gamble online. However, there are some, currently including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where all online gambling has been banned. Even if this is the case, most betting sites will allow you to sign up as they are located outside of India and therefore not bound by any Indian laws.
Therefore, it is important to know your own state laws. It is probably unlikely to get in trouble even if online gambling is banned in your state, but we wouldn’t recommend the practice if that is the case.
7. Play With an MGA Licensed Site
More or less all betting sites are licensed, but the license they have can vary quite a bit. Some are licensed by Curacao eGaming, some by PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) and some by MGA (Malta Gaming Authority).
While it is possible to find quality gambling sites that have a license by all of these organizations, MGA licensed sites generally have a much higher standard. This is because this organization has harsher rules and requirements that gambling sites must follow.
The customer support in particular, I have found to be much better at MGA licensed sites than others, and having a reliable, knowledgeable and service-minded support can be very important.
To know the license of a site, simply check the footer of it. The license should always be mentioned here.
