India is one of the countries which is willing to work on its gaming industry and make it better in order to be attractive on the international gambling market and potentially attract bigger investors to its region. This week witnessed the announcement that the Law Commission of India had given his recommendation that sports wagering should be legalized across the country and joined by the proper set of rules to oversee the field.
India has been going through quite the development when it comes to the gambling industry but in the past, there have been issues with its way of operation and how the lack of appropriate regulation could stop its future development. The long-anticipated changes which could take place would aim to bring innovation and a breath of fresh air to the gaming field of the state which has been in need of sports wagering regulation for many years now.
Ever since its legalization in some restricted zones to the liking of Goa, Daman, and Sikkim, gambling in India has seen quite the development as the authorities put ongoing efforts to provide the public with competitive offerings. The field has seen many gaming operators developing their business and providing the community with their offerings. Lottery and horse racing have been the primary gambling branches, but the underground sports betting industry is experiencing quite the interest in the recent years.
One of the activities which enjoy quite the attention is betting on cricket matches across the country and football in certain states. Since a large part of the gambling activities at the moment happen in an illegal way, this is a very important topic of debate which has to be examined. Recently a report called Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting, including Cricket in India which had the ultimate objective to introduce sports wagering across the country which is envisaged as the only logical path of development.
Complete Ban on Sports Betting Activities Considered
This is considering the current illegal operation which is taking place. There is, however, the small clarification that this move should be executed only if a complete ban on sports wagering could not be established. The authority has taken into account the popularity rates of gambling in India at the moment and what a potential widespread legalization of sports gambling could bring to the field and the financial state of players.
According to the suggestions, people with low rates of income as well as minors should not be allowed to take part in the wagering activities. Residents who fail to fall within the purview of the Income Tax Act or the Goods and Service Tax Act should also be restricted from placing their bets on sports events.
However, in addition to the said report, there was also a note adjacent which claimed that the current situation on a national level does not seem to be favorable for a potential sports wagering legalization and therefore the gaming activity should be strictly banned according to the recommendation. Match-fixing and any sports fraud would also be considered illegal if the report comes in effect.
Congress party leading figure Manish Tewari responded to the proposals stated in the report with the position that sports betting legalization is not a good idea since widely spread sports wagering could trigger more cases of problem gambling and widespread financial issues of people who place their bets.
As an opposition to his opinion, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, an avid supporter of sports betting introduction, stated that the move is guaranteed to bring an economical boost to the region. There have been concerns expressed in the past that the gambling field is going to introduce problem gambling to the field and gaming addition is not to be underestimated by the authorities and the community.
However, it should be taken into account that the gambling field, in general, does not have a significant set of rules which aim to regulate and protect all parties involved in it. The year 1992 saw the anticipated amendment of the Public Gambling Act issued in 1976 and this legalized casino offerings across the state.
