India is one of the countries that are big in sports and this is most especially when it comes to cricket and football. The love of the locals for sports like cricket is so obvious as you can see how this is part of their lives with how much they enjoy watching cricket tournaments and how people in the country are into playing this sports itself. It’s no longer surprising that the locals love to wager on such sports as well.
Now that cricket is back amidst a pandemic, many are surely looking forward to both watch and wager on the many cricket matches that will take place moving forward. The recent Indian Premier League did come on strong and, likely, the next season will also be the same. IPL 2021 betting will probably be at an all-time high once it comes on next year.
Now, when talking about sports betting, many are still wondering its legality in India. Generally, the legality of gambling in the country is on a state by state basis. There are states in India that are entitled to come up with their laws regarding any gambling activities. There are states where casinos are legal like in Goa while some other states restrict any forms of organized betting.
There are only three states in India where casinos are allowed to operate and these are the states of Goa, Daman, and Sikkim. This may make it seem like gambling in India isn’t that prominent as the options available to the locals are limited. However, this isn’t the case.
The gambling industry in India is estimated to be worth over 60 billion US dollars a year. Even if land casinos in India are only available in three states, there is still no law in the country that prohibits offshore casinos and bookies to offer their services to the locals of India. For these offshore operators to be allowed to offer their services in the country, they only need to offer Indian Rupees as a payment option for the local players.
Even if some offshore casinos and bookies are already able to penetrate the Indian gambling market, it is still estimated that around half of the worth of the gambling industry comes from illegal ways. A survey found that the illegal gambling market in the country is already worth a hundred billion US dollars with a growth rate of 7 percent each year. It also found that the majority of illegal gambling activities concern sports betting.
It’s not like there was never a push for the legislation of gambling or sports betting in the country. The executive officer for the International Cricket Council or the ICC said that he is in favor of legalizing sports betting in India.
The Indian Minister of State for Finance and the former president of the Board of Cricket Control, Anurag Thakur, said that the safest thing to do is to legalize gambling and regulate it in the country. According to him, the way to control match-fixing in cricket is to legalize sports betting. If this happens, he said that it will allow them to monitor people who are allegedly involved in match-fixing. He explained that it would stop the unholy and corrupt practices in this sport.
The managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management agreed with what Thakur has said. Shah said, If we look at the problem of match-fixing, then the trends in betting can give us leads on whether something unholy is happening or not. Betting can become a potent tool to stop fixing,” Shah said. If we look at the problem of match-fixing, then the trends in betting can give us leads on whether something unholy is happening or not. Betting can become a potent tool to stop fixing. “My suggestion will be to legalize betting and gambling activities, which are underground. They continue to exist in our society.”
Thakur emphasized that the legislation of online gambling in the country might be a major source of revenue for the government. This is because it is the case in countries like the UK where gambling, particularly sports betting, is huge. Thakur thinks that India should take advantage of sports betting the way the UK does. It will not only bring in more revenue but it will also make gambling safer for the locals.
Whether sports betting in India will be fully legal anytime soon is still hard to say. For now, the locals are still free to place their bets on offshore-based bookies. It is possible that local sports betting in India will eventually be legal but it may take a while before that happens.
