While online casino gaming isn’t regulated in India, it remains popular at offshore sites and with the global Indian diaspora in places where online casinos are more accessible. Card games like Teen Patti and Gin Rummy are hugely popular in India as social gambling games, and are now also available at live casinos for online. Moreover, developers have cottoned on to the rising popularity among Indians globally and have started to make slot games with Bollywood themes.
From global studios getting into traditional Indian card games broadcast from studios all over the world, to slot developers making Bollywood or cricket tie in games, these are five top online casino titles that were made to appeal to Indians across the world.
Live Teen Patti is Now Online from Various Studios and in Different Variants
Teen Patti is India’s most popular card game. Not always, but usually, played for money between friends and at festivals, it is now also available to play against the house live from HD-streamed custom built studios around the globe. Several casino streams even specially employee native Indians to give an authentic feel to the games.
If you want to play live games like Teen Patti, or other more Western live casino card games like baccarat or blackjack, you’ll find no shortage of options at a top online casino. Plus, of course, a great site will also offer you the sweetest bonuses and rewards as well as quick and efficient banking. Simple.
Even if you’re not familiar with Teen Patti, it isn’t exactly a hard game to play – sort of like a simplified version of three card poker. This has seen it prove popular even among Western audiences, with studios running in Europe and America also offering the game.
Bollywood Story by NetEnt is a Cute Romance-Themed Slot
This Bollywood-inspired slot from legendary Swedish developer NetEnt was one of the first online slots to embrace Indian culture outside of stereotypical, pseudohistorical games. The reels play out over a Bollywood style extravagant backdrop with the reels encrusted with jewels and vibrant silks fluttering in the background.
This five-reel payline game has floating Wild symbols that can trigger respins where they stay in place, and a free spins round with more Wilds and up to 30 free spins available. The maximum win is 3000x your bet on the main reels and 5000x on the bonus round. Although not licensed by any specific Bollywood movie – surprisingly this has not happened yet – this slot game captures the spirit of the cinematic style very well. And has good slot mechanics to boot.
Gin Rummy is Now at Online Casinos Too
The historic game of Gin Rummy – long popular both in India and the West – has now moved into the modern day with online casinos. Being slightly more skill based than Teen Patti, mostly you’ll find Gin Rummy at online casinos with poker sections – but some live casino developers have worked out how to make it play vs the house.
This multiplayer card game links India’s traditional card gaming scene of hundreds of years with the modern world of live casino in an interesting way. There are now dozens of dedicated apps and variants of the game for online play, as well as online casinos.
Bollywood Bonanza is a Creative Musical Slot Game
Where Bollywood Story took the romance angle as it’s theme, Bollywood Bonanza by 888 and Dragonfish Games uses the other big Bollywood genre – the musical. This five by three reel, 25-payline slot game had two bonus rounds and both are themed around dancing and music. Which makes it even more a shame that the music isn’t great here. It’s allright, but considering the lengths some slot producers go to for their soundtracks it was a little disappointing.
Other than that though, the combination of the sound and visuals does nail the Bollywood musical style. The reel symbols feature Indian cinema-inspired characters, including the suave, well-groomed hero in sunglasses, the beautiful diva and the flamboyant director.
The mechanics feature two bonus rounds – one “Full House” dancefloor pick em game and a free spins multiplier round. The maximum win is 1500x your bet.
Cricket Star by Microgaming is a Little Dated but Was Made for an Indian Audience
Cricket Star by Games Global was made specifically to tie in with the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. A tournament in which India reached the Semi Finals, losing to a home turf Australia on hot form. The game is set in a large cricket ground, that looks very Indian – few nations have such big cricket grounds.
The game also shares a name with a popular Indian cricket reality TV show. But it isn’t licensed by the series, or actually has anything to do with it. Other than being cricket themed. Cricket Star has 234 ways to win across 5×3 reels. It has a top win of 10,000x your bet as well as a free spins bonus round triggered by the golden cricket ball symbol. Cricket ball symbols will sometimes smash onto the reels off a batsman’s mighty swing, and these will trigger cascading wins if they make a winning line.
Although it looks a little dated now, the mechanics and max payout are very solid for a decade old slot game and Indian cricket fans who also like slots will find a lot to enjoy here.
