Market Report DEC 2025, SOUTH ASIA
Focus on South Asia In this report, we take a closer look at the iGaming landscape in South Asia, focusing on Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The analysis highlights market dynamics, player behaviour, product preferences, and risk profiles across the region.
\ The report provides an overview of:
\ Below are some first insights:
Market size and user interest based on Blask Index and revenue estimates. Player demographics and socio-economic characteristics. Key betting motivations across sports and casino products. Product usage and preferences by market. Brand engagement channels and touchpoints. Risk profiles and problem gambling indicators.
India is the largest revenue market, with monthly revenues peaking at over USD 241 million in April 2025. Bangladesh shows the highest absolute user interest, reaching a peak Blask Index of 80.25 million in June 2025. Sri Lanka remains a comparatively small market, with peak revenues of USD 4.55 million. The South Asian iGaming audience is generally young, with Bangladesh having the youngest player base. Earning money is the dominant motivation for betting in Bangladesh and India, while entertainment-driven motivations are more prominent in Sri Lanka. India displays a notably higher proportion of moderateand problem-risk gamblers compared to its neighbours.
The data was collected for the period November 2024 to October 2025, with demographic and behavioural data reflecting September 2024 for Bangladesh and India, and September 2025 for Sri Lanka (see charts for specific dates).
\ Market dynamics and user interest We analysed aggregated user interest using the Blask Index, alongside estimated monthly revenues (Competitive Earning Baseline). Bangladesh – High interest, lower monetisation
BLASK INDEX REPRESENTING THE AGGREGATED LEVEL OF USER INTEREST IN ALL GAMING BRANDS IN BANGLADESH. (Source: Blask) All brands
Bangladesh recorded the highest Blask Index peak at 80.25 million in June 2025, indicating strong user interest relative to its monetised output. Monthly revenues ranged from USD 162.1 million to USD 194.6 million, suggesting a large but price-sensitive market.
India – Revenue leader India is the largest market in the region by revenue, ranging from USD 194.5 million to USD 241.1 million, with the peak recorded in April 2025. While user interest peaked earlier (64.19 million in March 2025), India demonstrates stronger monetisation efficiency than Bangladesh.
Trends
Rise
Fall
AVG
MED
85M 80M 75M 70M 65M
NOV
DEC
2025
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
MARKET DYNAMICS REPRESENTING ESTIMATED MONTHLY REVENUE FOR INDIA, CALCULATED AS THE SUM OF PROJECTED BRAND-LEVEL REVENUE FOR EACH COMPLETED MONTH DURING THE SELECTED PERIOD. (Source: Blask)
60M
APS CEB (US$) $450M
All brands
$400M
Sri Lanka – Niche market
$350M
Sri Lanka’s iGaming market is substantially smaller, with revenues ranging from USD 3.55 million to USD 4.55 million. User interest peaked at 460,300 in April 2025, highlighting a limited but relatively stable niche audience.
$300M $250M $200M $150M $100M NOV
DEC
2025
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
\ Player demographics and socio-economic profile Significant differences exist across the three markets in terms of age, education, employment, and income. \ Age profile
\ Employment and careers
Bangladesh has the youngest iGaming audience, with 70% aged 18–34, compared to 60% in India and 45% in Sri Lanka. The 18–24 age group alone accounts for 40% of Bangladeshi players.
Sri Lanka has the highest proportion of wage-employed players (50%), followed by India (45%) and Bangladesh (35%).
18–34 AGE SEGMENT IN SOUTH ASIAN IGAMING MARKETS
70%
Bangladesh 60%
India 45%
Sri Lanka
India’s player base is notably concentrated in high-skill sectors, including software development and finance. 35%
Bangladesh
45%
India
50%
Sri Lanka
\ Income distribution
\ Education levels
Bangladeshi players predominantly fall into lower income brackets, with 60% earning under 300,000 BDT. Indian players cluster in midto-upper-mid income ranges, while Sri Lankan players are largely under 1,000,000 LKR.
Indian players are the most educated, with 50% holding a university or postgraduate degree. Sri Lanka follows at 40%, while Bangladesh trails at 25%.
Bangladesh
60%
Earn under 300,000 BDT
Bangladesh
25% 50%
India Sri Lanka
40%
\ Betting motivations \ Sports betting motivations
\ Casino betting motivations
Monetary gain dominates in Bangladesh and India, with 60% of players in both markets citing earning money as the primary driver. In Sri Lanka, financial motivation is weaker (20%), with players more likely to bet to pass time or enhance sports enjoyment. Indian players display broader engagement drivers, including excitement, enjoyment, and social involvement with sports events.
Earning money remains the top motivation in Bangladesh (55%) and India (50%). Bangladesh shows a strong desire to escape from routine, while Indian players prioritise enjoyment of the process. Sri Lankan casino players lean more toward time-passing and casual engagement than financial outcomes.
BETTING MOTIVATIONS IN SOUTH ASIA. (Source: Blask)
Sports Betting – Top Motivation
Casino Betting – Top Motivation
Bangladesh
Earn money (60%), Enjoy process (40%), Adrenaline (30%)
Earn money (55%), Escape routine (35%), Adrenaline (30%)
India
Earn money (60%), Enjoy process (50%), Excitement (50%)
Earn money (50%), Enjoy process (40%), Pass time (35%)
Sri Lanka
Pass time (25%), Excitement (25%), Earn money (20%)
Pass time (25%), Earn money (20%), Enjoy process (20%)
\ Product usage and preferences Traditional sports betting dominates across the region, especially in India (70% usage). Skill-based games (Poker/Rummy) are a defining feature of the Indian market, with 50% participation, compared to low penetration in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Lottery products remain popular in both Bangladesh and India (40%). Fantasy sports are uniquely significant in India (35%), with minimal uptake elsewhere. Esports usage is highest in Bangladesh (20%), reflecting a younger and more digitally native audience.
PRODUCT PREFERENCES IN SOUTH ASIA. (Source: Blask)
Traditional Sports
Poker/ Rummy
Lottery
Fantasy Sports
Slots/ Instant Wi
Esports
Bangladesh
50%
15%
40%
Not listed
25%
20%
India
70%
50%
40%
35%
30%
15%
Sri Lanka
30%
10%
20%
5%
15%
10%
\ Brand engagement and touchpoints
\ Problem gambler status
Social media is the most important channel across all three markets, reaching 50–60% of users. Online search plays a major role in India and Sri Lanka (45% each).
A clear divergence emerges in player risk profiles: India shows a significantly elevated risk level, with 65% of users classified as moderate- or problem-risk gamblers. Sri Lanka has the healthiest profile, with 70% non-problem gamblers and only 15% in the combined moderate/problem category.
45%
Online search usage in India and Sri Lanka
70%
Mobile app notifications are critical in India (50%), underlining a strong app-based ecosystem.
50%
Non-problem gamblers in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh mirrors Sri Lanka’s lower-risk structure, with 60% nonproblem gamblers and 15% combined moderate/problem risk.
Mobile app notifications are critical in India
MODERATE- AND PROBLEM-RISK GAMBLERS IN SOUTH ASIA
YouTube and video platforms are especially influential in India and Sri Lanka. Friend recommendations remain a consistently trusted acquisition channel across the region.
Bangladesh
15% 65%
India Sri Lanka
15%
\ Experts’ comments and market perspectives To complement the quantitative findings, we gathered insights from industry experts with deep operational, regulatory, and regional experience. Their comments provide important context on the structural, cultural, and technological forces shaping the South Asian iGaming ecosystem. \ Structural and cultural drivers of player behaviour According to Harmen Brenninkmeijer, Founder & Executive Chairman of NYCE International, South Asia’s gaming evolution is driven less by demographics alone and more by structural unevenness and trust dynamics. “South Asia’s gaming story is less about the fact that everyone is young and mobile savvy, which does matter, and more about the unevenness of society and the lack of trust in key institutions. Real-money appetite sits on top of uneven institutions, cash cultures, and strong informal networks. A common attitude is ‘if it’s not forbidden, it’s allowed.’ So, many people don’t feel they are doing anything incorrect,” Brenninkmeijer said. “India has developed into a market of hundreds of millions of gamers. However, the ARPU is still thin; people test games and churn fast, which forces operators to obsess over retention loops and low-ticket monetisation (battle passes, cosmetics, UPI-size micro-payments) rather than traditional high-roller models,” he said. “Across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, most real-money gambling spend is fragmented into very small tickets; fantasy sports entries, micro-bets on cricket or football, and low-denomination slots and tables. The spending pattern is “many people spending a little” rather than a few driving the revenue (a contrast with markets like Japan). This produces high engagement and volatility in activity data,
but shallow ARPU and strong price sensitivity, which in turn changes product design and marketing,” he noted. In markets where local institutions and operators are not trusted, Brenninkmeijer added that players often perceive well-designed offshore platforms as safer than informal local agents, prioritising UX, speed of payout, and social proof over domestic licensing status. Cultural continuity also plays a role. “Cricket, Matka (informal lotteries) and betting are part of the Indian cultural fabric. Digital gambling rides those habits, transforming cash-based social betting into app-based, alwayson experiences rather than introducing a completely new behaviour,” he said. Additionally, Brenninkmeijer cited the large Nepali and Sri Lankan diasporas often discover products abroad and relay them home through informal networks and social media, meaning regulators frequently react to imported behaviours rather than shaping markets from scratch. Brycan Dayao, Vice President of Operations at Amused Group, reinforces this view, highlighting that culture and access are the primary accelerators of adoption. “South Asia is driven by culture and access. Players love quick, lowfriction games, fantasy sports, live skill games, lotteries, and social reinforcement accelerates adoption. With tens of millions of active users across the region, the audience moves fast, learns fast, and adapts even faster,” Dayao said.
\ Regulation and pathways to sustainable growth
\ Technology: practical tools, not buzzwords
Both experts stress that regulatory clarity is essential for long-term market stability.
On technology adoption, Brenninkmeijer stresses that AI, blockchain, and Web3 matter less as narratives and more as solutions to regional frictions such as fraud, AML, affordability, and cross-border payments.
Brenninkmeijer observes that many South Asian governments are oscillating between prohibition and weakly enforced tolerance, with India’s recent policy actions illustrating how hard-line approaches can push activity offshore rather than eliminate it. He advocates for a tiered regulatory framework, rather than a binary ban. This would involve lighter regulation for clearly skill-based formats such as fantasy sports and poker, while applying stricter licensing, capital requirements, and consumer protection rules to casino-style and higher-risk betting products. He also highlights the importance of centralised gambling authorities, citing Sri Lanka’s new Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) as a step away from fragmented, outdated oversight. A single supervisory body with authority over licensing, AML, enforcement, and data reporting would create a clearer operating environment than legacy excise or home affairs structures. Another key recommendation is onshore visibility in exchange for higher standards. Players are already gambling on international platforms, and the policy question is whether this activity remains invisible or becomes supervised. Incentives such as tax stability, promotional rights, and payment access, paired with mandatory KYC, affordability checks, realtime risk scoring, and local-language responsible gambling tools, could encourage serious operators to operate transparently. Dayao echoes this sentiment, stating that clarity is everything. “Simple rules on licensing, payments, and marketing stabilise markets, while ambiguity pushes players underground. India’s 2025 Online Gaming Bill shows how clean lines help operators thrive and enforcement actually works,” he said.
“The key is to position AI as the core of risk and RG, not just marketing. With large numbers of low-ticket, high-frequency gamblers, manual monitoring is impossible. AI-driven systems can detect synthetic IDs, device farms, and affiliate fraud in near real time, and flag harmful or financially unsustainable play patterns early, enabling cooling-off, deposit limits, or targeted messaging in local languages. In markets where regulators have limited technical resources, operators’ AI capabilities can become a licensing criterion,” Brenninkmeijer said. Crypto usage, he notes, already exists in restrictive or capital-controlled environments. A forward-looking approach, he said, would focus regulation on on- and off-ramps, while exploring limited, ring-fenced uses of stablecoins or tokenised balances for B2B settlement, jackpot management, and tax reconciliation. “Web3’s immediate utility in gambling is less about ‘metaverse casinos’ and more about verifiable randomness and public audit trails for RNG games and draws, and tokenised loyalty or VIP programmes that travel across brands in a group, giving high-value players more tangible, portable value without aggressive bonus abuse. Over the next few years, these will likely remain niche but can be useful differentiators where trust is low and disputes are common,” he said. Dayao similarly sees AI as central to onboarding, personalisation, fraud detection, and player safety, while blockchain’s principal value lies in secure payments and transparency, not hype. “Blockchain and Web3 matter mainly for secure payments and transparency, not hype. Platforms that nail frictionless onboarding and trust in these markets will win,” Dayao said.
\ Infrastructure and access challenges
\ Opportunities and risks for market entrants
Infrastructure remains a critical constraint, particularly outside major metropolitan areas.
Looking ahead, Brenninkmeijer frames South Asia through a set of structural asymmetries: massive player volume versus low monetisation, sophisticated demand versus immature regulation, and substantial human capital versus weak enforcement.
Brenninkmeijer points out that official 4G and 5G coverage often masks jitter, congestion, and power outages, which are especially damaging for live dealer content and in-play betting. “Operators who design for these environments should use ultra-low bitrate and adaptive streaming for live content, and build aggressive reconnection and settlement logic so a dropped connection does not feel like ‘the house stole my money.’ Without proportionate regulation and clear rules, player frustration rises, and trust erodes rather than stopping activity,” he said. Payment access is equally important. Many players still lack cards or bank accounts and rely on wallets, agents, or informal intermediaries. “India’s UPI shows how a public digital payments layer can normalise tiny, instant deposits and withdrawals, which is well-suited to regulated micro-stake play. Extending similar schemes, or interoperable wallet ecosystems, in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh would expand the reachable regulated customer base,” he added. Dayao also said that failed deposits or unstable connections instantly destroy trust, and calls on governments to modernise fintech regulation and hold telecom providers accountable, particularly in rural areas.
Key opportunities include building the first trusted, onshore-licensed brands, designing products specifically for micro-stake, mobilefirst users, and leveraging South Asia’s deep talent pool in product, engineering, and risk operations. “Design specifically for micro-stake, mobile-only gamblers with cricket, localsports, and familiar themes, rather than reskinning European football-centric sportsbooks and generic casino lobbies (lessons from parts of Africa can be instructive),” he suggested. However, the risks are equally pronounced. “Policy whiplash and regulatory uncertainty, as seen in recent Indian measures, can wipe out an onshore model overnight and force offshore or free-to-play pivots. These are high-volatility areas that public investors avoid and private investors may under-price. Persistent grey- and black-market competition uses the same payment and marketing channels but carries no compliance cost, compressing margins for those investing in licences and RG. Reputation and ESG exposure remain material; a few high-profile cases of problem gambling, match-fixing, or illegal credit networks tied to gambling can trigger backlash and put the entire sector under pressure,” he warned. Dayao concludes that while the opportunities are substantial, driven by untapped users, rising digital payments, and demand for localisation, the winners will be those who deeply understand local culture, language, and payment behaviour, and move early with compliant, resilient operating models. “First movers who understand culture, language, and payments will own the next wave,” Dayao said.
\ Key takeaways
Imprint
South Asia is a high-growth, high-divergence region, with India leading in revenue and Bangladesh in raw user interest.
Published by
India’s market maturity comes with higher risk, reflected in elevated problem gambling indicators. Bangladesh offers scale and youth, but monetisation remains constrained by income levels. Sri Lanka represents a smaller, more entertainment-driven market with comparatively lower risk exposure. Overall, the South Asian iGaming market presents strong long-term potential, but requires highly localised product, marketing, and responsible gaming strategies to address its diverse economic and behavioural realities.
SiGMA World, S.G. Worldwide Media Company Ltd. 6, Agias Marinas Street. 4044 Germasogeia – Limassol, Cyprus
Editor Report author, Jenny Ortiz-Bolivar, SiGMA News Asia lead senior journalist and reporter. Data provided by Blask.
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