Apparently India is soon to hand out its first online gambling license to one of a number of applicants.
Around a dozen big name European betting firms have been vying for the license that is being granted by the East Indian state of Sikkim and a decision on the successful applicant is expected within a couple of weeks. William Hill, Ladbrokes, Betfair and Bwin have confirmed their participation in the licensing process.
The operator awarded a license will gain the right to advertise their product via mainstream means in the state of Sikkim, as well as offer their product to the wider Indian market. While Sikkim, a relatively small Indian state in the Himalayan region has only 600,000 residents, the real value in the license is its open access to the broader Indian market of over a billion people.
The Indian propensity to gamble is legendary, with a black market for sports betting (cricket in particular) estimated to be worth somewhere north of $30 billion. No wonder William Hill and co. are all competing hard to get a foothold into this market.
Spokespersons from both William Hill and Ladbrokes have signaled their intent clearly...
William Hill: '...[we] can confirm that we are interested in entering the Indian market and we are in discussions with potential partners at the moment.'
Ladbrokes: 'We are watching the space to see what happens because there are several partner opportunities to get a license in the province of Sikkim.'
The need for an Indian partner that both company's eluded to in their statements is a mandatory qualification criteria. William Hill are said to already be in discussions with Indian technology firm Global Torrent International.
Image courtesy www.sikkim-adventure.com
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