The more you try to prohibit, more people will gravitate towards the black market, which is bad for any company as well as customers. In my opinion, the government cannot prohibit gambling and betting.

Parimatch operates across 15 markets, and I have explored 30 to 40 markets myself. There is one big lobby against gambling companies, run by a big fantasy sports operator, which is trying to get the rules in its favour. If you talk about India, I think everyone is aware of what is happening here. Betting companies pay taxes and nobody’s hiding anything. It is a big source of revenue for the governments, the rules are open and understandable for everybody so that the players are protected. Look at some of the most developed countries in the world, the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, all are tier I markets, and all allow betting, and all have proper regulations in place. So, are you of the view that gambling should be allowed in India?

But at the same time, it will not significantly change the industry, as every bookmaker will find ways to reach their customer base. In such a market, removing our ads from TV or other marketing channels will of course hurt, considering that for any company, to advertise on TV, and sponsorships is a very fast way to reach millions of people.

If you visit any paan shop in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore or other cities, and say you want to place bets, you will find an agent right away. This black market has been there for 30-40 years. And while lakhs of players have started using our online platform, still there are a lot of people, who prefer placing bets in the black market via phone and messaging services. We had launched in Asia at the end of 2019, just before covid, which accelerated online business.

Parimatch website