Official language: Hindi, English
Population: 1,147,995,904
Currency: Indian Rupee (INR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 68.3174 INR
1 GBP = 73.2711 INR
1 USD = 46.3389 INR

Poker in India
The Indian poker scene is still very young, but each year the game becomes more and more popular as players around the country are exposed to it. Unfortunately it is difficult for players to enjoy the game, since Indian casinos are not allowed to offer table games. Cruise casino liners can legally have poker tables but these are few in number. Because of this many poker games in India happen behind closed doors.

Despite the lack of venues, many tournaments are popping up in India. One major event was the Asian Poker Classic which took place on one of India's casino ships (the Maharajah Casino). Its $1million prize pool attracted many players. The Indian Poker Tour was supposed to happen in October 2008, but was postponed to March 2009 after the organizer fell ill. The tour will pass through Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, and Grand Final will be held in Goa, with an expected $1million prize pool.

Online Poker in India
Indian poker online is also becoming more popular. There are no proper Indian poker websites on the internet today. The government does not give out licenses for companies to operate internet poker rooms in India, so all players must use sites that are hosted elsewhere. While India's national lottery is available online, there is no sign of the Indian government expanding the extent of their online gambling site licensing.

Indian players are accepted at many different international gambling websites and many of these offer poker games to players. While land-based poker games in India are restricted to casino ships, these online poker rooms are outside the jurisdiction of the government, so players in India are safe using them.