Live Dealer Games Increasingly More Popular In Online Casinos

"Most games in the leading pack are played with a live dealer, with the exception of slots," states industry researcher Svilen Madjov in a recent study of real money gaming (RMG) trends in modern India published by leading casino comparison platform SevenJackpots.

The study is based on primary data on the anonymous behavior of more than 170 registered users on the Pure Win casino website throughout most of 2021.

Out of the top 18 games in terms of number of players, 8 are slots and 10 are played with a live dealer. The dominance of the live option is preserved in the top 30 games.

Roulette, Slots and Fast Play Versions Shape Up Desi Gamer Preferences

The SevenJackpots study makes a number of other interesting observations on the contemporary trends in Indian online casino gaming space where western classics roulette and slots are charging the leading positions, while desi gamers want to play fast.

Roulette games emerge as a clear leader in the top 30 games in terms of turnover generating a massive 70.1 percent. The first position is taken by Lightning Roulette which is responsible for 28.24 percent of the total turnover registered by this chart.

The popularity of slot games is also on the rise, as they account for 29 percent of the gaming sessions of the 28,000 players who chose any of the top 30 games, and 35.7 percent of the sessions in the top 100 games rated by the number of players.

"The majority of fan favorites are quick-play versions, especially in the roulette category. Features classified as "lightning", "speed", "instant" or "auto" draw the most crowds and online bets," observes Svilen Madjov.

"This is also true of innovative game titles like "Dream Catcher" and "Crazy Time" (both similar to live roulette or Wheel of Fortune). They have a live dealer, offer dynamic visual content and engross the player as an active participant. In the end, these offer a more exciting take on the live roulette genre," he adds.

Traditional Asian Games Keep Their Popularity

Despite the newly grown appetite for Western casino titles, traditional Asian games like Teen Patti and Andar Bahar hold their popular status and account for 13.5 percent of the turnover generated by the top 30 games and about 10 percent of the players.

"Andar Bahar is ranked 4th overall by number of players and first among Indian table games. It also attracts a large number of high-rollers, players who raise total turnovers and gaming sessions' length considerably. Teen Patti is also a game that comes high among player preferences. That is also not a surprise, since it regularly dominates mobile app rankings," Svilen Madjov points out.

Other popular Asian titles include Chinese Sic Bo, Dragon Tiger and Fan-Tan, together with Indian Jhandi Munda and Ludo.

Indian Online Gaming-Related Legal Environment Poised for Change

Just like desi casino play preferences, the Indian legal environment related to online gaming is also being swept by new trends. The old atmosphere of simply ignoring the issue or trying to ban all gaming, although still present, has been stirred by numerous signs that regulation might be around the corner, analyzed in a recent publication by lawyer firm Touchstone Partners.

The Online Gaming (Regulation) Bill, 2022 was recently presented in the Lok Sabha seeking an Online Gaming Commission to be created by the Central Government and mandated to oversee the operations of the sector, devise rules and issue licenses.

The Bill sees all gaming as a homogeneous whole and makes no distinction neither between the old categories of skill- and chance-based games, nor between different genres such as casual, fantasy, eSports, RMG and others. The latter is seen as a drawback by the legal experts, who also think that the act is not likely to be adopted, but nevertheless call it "encouraging" and "a welcome change".

The Centre also constituted two committees - an inter-ministerial panel on online gaming mandated "to promote online gaming and frame regulatory mechanisms for the segment, protection of gamers and ease of doing business, among others", and an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) taskforce with the purpose to "recommend ways to realise and build domestic capacity for serving Indian markets and the global demand, and to promote the AVGC sector in the country under the aegis of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."

These and other developments speak of an intention in government circles for a uniform and comprehensive regulatory framework over online gaming to be created in India. It remains to be seen how the future will shape up, but "we believe that these legislative initiatives are a much desired step in the right direction," the authors conclude.