India needs more casinos for ‘vastly underserved’ local market, report says

The Indian gaming market is far from reaching its potential, industry experts said.

According to the Global Market Advisors LLC (GMA), casino gambling in the country could potentially reach US$10.2 billion annually by the year 2025, thanks to the growing number of middle class residents with a healthy appetite for the casinos. However, the country don’t have enough gaming establishments that will cater to this “vastly underserved” market.

India’s current population stands between 1.25 and 1.30 billion, but its casino offerings combined with Nepal and Sri Lanka only amounts to 730 tables and far fewer slots. This means that each table game serves an estimated 1.7 to 1.6 million people.

“It is important to note that [our] gaming revenue [estimate]… would be generated by 20.3 million middle/upper class adults, which accounts for only 1.4 percent of India’s projected total population in that year [2025],” said GMA’s director of research and analysis Kit Szybala in a paper.