Since 2014, Android has been dominating India’s mobile operating system (OS) landscape. And that’s not surprising, given that India is not only a mobile-first market, but also one that is price conscious.
No surprise: Android holds much larger share in India
Analytics from Purewin.com and SevenJackpots casinos comparison site and data from, which aggregated data for an estimated 78,000 users between January and April 2021, showed that handheld devices have reached 90 percent share—and these devices are mostly powered by Android OS.
In their latest report, “Which mobile devices are popular for online gambling in India,” SevenJackpots analysts noted that Android holds a 95.23 percent market share in the country by the end 2020, followed by iOS with 3.2 percent.
Including desktop and tablet devices, Android currently enjoys a 74.65 percent share of the entire OS landscape in India, with Windows trailing behind with 16.17 percent. iOS and OS X have a combined 3.6 percent market share, while KaiOS has 0.76 percent, and “Unknown” OS has 3.91 percent.
“The fact that Android has a much larger share doesn’t come as a surprise. The platform offers more apps, games, and payment options to users,” according to the SevenJackpots report.
Android devices primary medium for gaming
There are several factors why Android-powered mobile devices are the primary medium for gaming of desi online casino players in the country: they’re cheaper, and the OS is open with many local tech companies working mostly with Android; the top mobile phones are also manufactured locally—even if they are Chinese brands; and tech reviews and social media influencers mostly highlight Android phones that are in demand in the country.
“A number of Chinese brand smartphones—locally produced in India, have earned the lion’s share of the market in the past few years. With some slight differences between urban and rural users, mobile gamers trust market leaders and expect user-friendly smartphone at an affordable price,” SevenJackpots analysts said.
Comparing by state, SevenJackpots data showed that Maharashtra holds the majority share of the domestic gambling scene with 16.74 percent, followed by Karnataka with 9.17 percent, and Telangana with 8.38 percent. According to the report, “Maharashtra’s leadership in user rankings confirms the importance of Tier-1 cities like Mumbai and Pune. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai are also well represented and understandably so, given their high-tech development, infrastructure, and manufacturing capacities.”
Online gaming gains traction amid COVID
The gaming industry is thriving, especially as consumers in India are staying home since April last year due to COVID-induced restrictions. More than half of the country’s estimated 760 million internet users play online games at this point, according to an ENV Media research focused on mobile devices. Those gamers play via mobile phones, effectively making India the second largest mobile gaming market in the world.
“The COVID-19 pandemic was an unexpected event for all. Yet, it turned into a factor that pushed most digital trends in the same direction they had already taken,” according to ENV Media research analysts. “Nowadays, the former family primetime hours are often dedicated to gaming, and this kind of fragmented, customizable, and largely free gaming experience is the new preferred pastime for many Indians.”