Even Though Illegal in India, Parimatch Is More Popular Than Google
Sports betting company Parimatch sees huge online traffic in India that outranks that of Google, even though it’s illegal in the nation, making India an ever bigger hub for illicit online gambling.
In India, Parimatch, an international sports betting company that operates in Europe, with its headquarters located in Limassol, Cyprus, is more popular than Google, a report from the research organization CUTS International showed, highlighting the scale of illegal gambling in the nation from April 2024 to March 2025.
According to a report by a public policy think-tank on consumer sovereignty, India is quickly becoming a center for the illicit online betting and gambling industry due to a lack of basic safeguards and regulations. In fiscal year 2025 (FY25), the top 15 of these unlicensed platforms received an alarming 5.4 billion visits, more than 3.5 billion of which (over 66% of total traffic) came through direct traffic. According to CUTS International’s research, the yearly deposits made on these illicit platforms—which include 1xBet, Parimatch, Stake, Fairplay, and BateryBet (forbidden in India but considered trusted online bookies in many other parts of the world)—amount to an estimated $100 billion.
India Continues to Lack Basic Safeguards
The analysis pointed to a concerning trend: these platforms frequently circumvent fundamental security measures like Know Your Customer (KYC) and age verification, allowing kids and young people unfettered access to gaming content. Certain offshore operators, like Parimatch, employ strategies like cash-on-delivery, which facilitates frequent gambling by minors without parental or legal supervision because they might not have access to digital payments.
Even more concerning is the fact that, according to the research, one such platform, Parimatch, had a higher traffic share in March 2025 than popular websites like Amazon.in, Wikipedia.org, Google.co.in, x.com, hotstar.com, Flipkart.com, LinkedIn.com, Quora.com, and Reddit.com.
The accessibility of these illicit platforms and the immersive, risky experiences they create are what make them so alluring, the research further noted. Illegal sites like Stake and 1xBet use advanced psychological design strategies and frequently allow for higher-risk wagering, which heightens the thrill and excitement. Young people who are impulsive and sensation-seeking find such high-stakes settings very alluring, which greatly raises their chance of suffering gambling-related injuries.
