2025 Report: Crypto, Cricket Betting, and the Impact of India’s New Laws

Cricket betting in India has always been massive, but 2024 and early 2025 mark a clear turning point. The rise of cryptocurrency in sports betting, combined with culturally dominant events like the Indian Premier League (IPL), has created a new chapter in how Indians wager on cricket. This report brings together data from multiple industry sources to answer a key question: how many Indians bet on cricket with crypto, and how will the Online Gaming Law 2025 and 40% GST reshape this market?

The Sheer Scale of Cricket Betting in India

Cricket remains the backbone of India’s betting market. Multiple studies and reports including Statista have highlighted the enormous participation levels-

• Around 140 million Indians are considered regular bettors.
• This number spikes to 340 million during major tournaments like the IPL or ICC events.
• For each India T20I, it’s estimated that $200 million is wagered.

These figures alone show that cricket betting is not just popular; it’s a national‑scale activity. When combined with rapid adoption of digital payments and crypto, the market is entering a new phase.

Crypto’s Influence on Indian Cricket Betting

1. Why Crypto Appeals to Bettors

Cryptocurrency adoption in betting has been accelerated by key advantages-

• Anonymity: Bettors prefer privacy in a legally grey market.
• Speed: Instant deposits and withdrawals without bank delays.
• Lower fees: Especially attractive for high rollers compared to local methods like UPI.
• Global acceptance: International operators tap into Indian demand by offering Bitcoin, Litecoin, USDT, and other coins.

For Indian bettors, crypto offers not just efficiency but also perceived safety from local regulatory scrutiny.

2. Marketing Push During IPL

Crypto brands are not standing still. Campaigns like OKX’s “Crypto Cricket Cup” and NFT‑driven promotions tied to IPL games illustrate how blockchain companies use cricket to attract customers. This crossover between sports, crypto, and fan culture ensures betting volumes increase, particularly during marquee events.

Case Study: Stake’s Entry into India

Perhaps the clearest example of crypto’s impact on cricket betting comes from Stake, one of the largest crypto‑betting operators.

• In early 2024, Stake added INR deposits, making it one of only six supported fiat currencies on its platform.
• This coincided directly with the IPL season, creating a perfect market‑entry strategy.

Stake’s Growth Numbers

The results were explosive:

• Blask Index– 339,000 in January → 25 million by May 2024 (a 7,275% increase in five months).
• Market share– from 27% in January to nearly 40% by May 2024.
• eGGR (estimated gross gaming revenue)- grew from $1.2 million in January to $42 million in May.

This was not short‑term hype. Even after the IPL, Stake maintained 18.10% market share in October, proving that the gains were sustainable.

Promotional Innovation

Stake’s campaign “first four overs six” was a standout. Bettors won if their team hit a six in the first four overs; a promo that paid out in 63% of selected matches. This creative, match‑specific offer drove over 80% first‑time depositors, most of whom used INR or crypto.

Crypto’s Passage Through the Grey Zone

Given this change, the legal ban on promotion; how do Indian bettors continue to participate? That’s where crypto plays a crucial role.

• Because banks and regulated fiat payment channels are under tighter scrutiny, crypto provides a payment mechanism that can bypass some of the restrictions.
• Crypto’s pseudonymous nature gives bettors a sense of privacy when regulations and tax enforcement become heavy.
• Offshore platforms accepting crypto remain accessible even when promotion is restricted, or when local operators face onerous tax burdens.

In effect, cryptocurrency has become a lifeline for those in the grey area: legal risk exists, but many bettors perceive that using crypto reduces exposure to bank rules, taxation tracking, or promotion‑based enforcement.

Estimating How Many Indians Bet with Crypto

So, with 340 million Indians potentially betting during major cricket events, how many are now using crypto under this new landscape?

While direct counts are still elusive, multiple signals give us a strong estimate:

• Stake’s rapid rise shows that crypto‑friendly operators can grab tens of millions of monthly users.
• Blask data shows an eGGR of $42M/month at peak, much of it driven by crypto rails.
• Analytics Insight reports that crypto payments are now a significant portion of transactions, particularly among high‑value bettors.
• The appeal of anonymity and speed in a highly taxed & regulated market suggests a growing preference for Bitcoin, USDT, and other coins.

Even if 10-15% of India’s 140M regular bettors used crypto in 2024, that translates to 14-21 million crypto bettors. During IPL spikes, this figure could climb to 40-50 million.

The new regulatory environment makes it likely that the higher end of that estimate or even beyond, are using crypto, because it offers both a way to avoid restrictions and a way to reduce costs associated with higher GST.

Why Timing Matters: The IPL Effect

The IPL remains the event that magnifies all these dynamics-

• Stake’s market share surged almost 40% during the IPL.
• Promotions tied to match moments (sixes, overs, wickets) that used crypto or accepted crypto/INR deposits did especially well.
• With the PROGA restricting promotions, traditional advertising‑led growth is curtailed. Crypto, referrals, and word‑of‑mouth become more central.

Thus, IPL doesn’t just drive volume, it accelerates the shift toward crypto rails and forces operators and bettors to adapt in real time.

The Future of Crypto and Cricket Betting in India Under New Rules

Key Trends for Late 2025–2026

• Cryptocurrency becomes more central for both deposits & bets, especially for offshore betting sites.
• Operators reduce promotion budgets due to the law, raising the value of crypto‑friendly reputation, transparency, and referral marketing.
• Tax incidence pressures with 40% GST, operator margins shrink; smaller operators may exit; players feel the impact via fewer bonuses or higher fees.
• Legal challenges & interpretation as courts will continue to decide how GST applies to deposits, revenue, and whether crypto operators fall under the same scope.

Operators’ Checklist (Blask Framework + New Rules)

For anyone entering or operating in this market post‑2025:

1. Assess market size and player behavior (140M regular → 340M seasonal).
2. Fully map regulation: PROGA, GST Council rules, state variations.
3. Offer multiple payment rails (fiat where possible + crypto).
4. Localize heavily: INR acceptance, Indian languages, cricket‑centric promos (within legal limits).
5. Focus on retention (in‑play offers, bonuses, social/community features) more than acquisition via promotion.
6. Monitor key KPIs: Blask Index, eGGR, deposit volumes, crypto payment share.

Regulatory and Tax Landscape in 2025

1. The Online Gaming Law 2025

India’s legal framework has evolved significantly. In 2025, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA, also called the Online Gaming Law 2025) was introduced. It bans promotion, advertising, and facilitation of real‑money online games but does not criminalize individual players placing bets.

This distinction is important: the law aims to limit the role of operators and reduce the marketing exposure while still allowing private individuals to continue betting in a more restricted, grey‑area environment.

2. The GST Hike: From 28% to 40%

Parallel to the law, there has been a sharp tax shift. Real money online gaming and betting was taxed at 28% GST for platform deposits and bets from October 2023. In 2025, the GST Council raised that tax to 40% for online gaming, casinos, lotteries, and betting. This makes it one of the highest indirect tax rates applied in India.

The increase places heavy burdens on operators, shrinking margins and forcing them to pass costs on to players through lower bonuses, higher rake, or withdrawal fees.

How the Law and GST Will Impact Cricket Betting?

The combined effect of the Online Gaming Law 2025 and the 40% GST rate is already reshaping cricket betting:

• Promotions will shrink- With explicit advertising banned, Indian players will see no celebrity‑backed campaigns and bonus‑heavy offers during IPL seasons. Operators will instead rely on organic growth, referrals, and cricket‑centric product features.
• Costs will rise- A 40% GST on deposits means operators absorb significant tax or pass it onto players, reducing the value bettors get for their money.
• Shift to offshore and crypto platforms: Offshore sportsbooks not bound by Indian GST are more attractive, particularly if they accept Bitcoin or USDT. For players, crypto remains the most convenient way to avoid bank restrictions and GST‑linked overheads.
• Betting volumes may not fall significantly- Despite the new rules, betting is so ingrained in cricket culture that volumes are expected to hold steady or even grow. The difference is in the rails, crypto adoption will accelerate as bettors sidestep new restrictions.

The legal and tax changes may reduce growth for regulated domestic operators but increase reliance on offshore crypto‑based platforms. As a result, total betting activity is unlikely to decline; instead, it will shift more aggressively into the grey area where crypto dominates.

Conclusion

The numbers speak for themselves. Cricket betting in India involves hundreds of millions of participants and billions of dollars annually. What’s changed is the framework, legal, tax, and operational, and crypto is now central to how Indians are responding.

• Regular bettors- 140M
• Seasonal peak- 340M
• Wagered per T20I- $200M
• Stake’s growth- 7,275% in five months
• Crypto bettors estimate- 20-50M depending on season and regulatory pressure

The Online Gaming Law 2025 (PROGA) shows the government is aiming to clamp down on promotion and advertising of real-money games, while not criminalizing players, avoiding pushing them completely underground.

At the same time, the GST hike to 40% on real money gaming and betting, much heavier than previous 28%, adds financial pressure to both operators and bettors. But for many Indians who still want to place a bet during the IPL or an ODI, cryptocurrency provides a passage through the grey zone: less exposed to banking restrictions, promotion bans, and tax overheads.

India is not just adopting crypto betting, it is shaping the global benchmark for scale, resilience, and adaptation in iGaming. With the IPL and other major tournaments ahead in 2025-2026, expect crypto’s role to deepen even more, as legal, tax, and payment rails evolve around it.

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