Why Is Gambling Illegal In India

Gambling in India is restricted to selected activities like lotteries and betting on horse racing, however, restricted gambling takes place illegally everywhere. This type of Gambling leads to various crimes like corruption, betting of things other than money, money laundering, etc. The Public Gambling Act of India deems this activity illegal, but the law is obsolete. It lacks proper regulation of online casinos and online bookies, which is why they fall under its grey area. The only specific law that is mentioned is that Indian-based online casinos and bookies are not allowed to operate.

• Why Is Gambling Illegal In India Currency
• Is Gambling Illegal In Indiana
• Why Is Gambling Illegal In India Now

Get the full overview of the legal situation of gambling in India right here

Many of our readers have asked us if it’s legal to gamble in India. We understand why many of you are having this concern, so we decided to write this in-depth article to give you the most correct answer and guide you to gamble legally in India. The Indian gambling law is vague and unclear, which makes a lot of people confused. We are all good citizens, and none of us wants to break the law.

Through our own research, we have always believed that gambling is legal in India, but to make the point very clear, we decided to team up with some of India’s top legal experts to make absolutely sure that we are on the right side of the law.

When it comes to gambling, the practice is frowned upon by some Indians and embraced by many others. Gambling is really an issue that divides the country. Some believe it should be fully legal, others believe it should be regulated and some conservatives believe it should be completely prohibited.

But what is the current legal situation of gambling in India? Unfortunately, the answer is not that straightforward. In this article, you will discover how and where you can gamble legally, which depends a lot on where you live and how you intend to gamble.

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Is it legal to gamble in India?

To give you the most correct answer to this question. We have allied ourselves with one of the top legal experts on gambling in India. Mr. Sameer Kapoor Senior Advocate in the Odisha State Bar Council. Through our interview, He will attempt to give us the most legal and correct information in this article. So let’s start from the beginning.

Gambling was first prohibited in India during the colonial period under the Public Gambling Act of 1867. This law made it illegal to offer gambling services on a federal level, as well as to visit and use a public gambling facility. The law did not ake any mention of online gambling, as it was made many years before the invention of the internet.

So along comes the internet, and people start asking: Does that mean online gambling is legal, because it is not expressly forbidden under the law of 1867? The short answer is yes. If the government of India had wanted to fully prohibit online gambling, they could have amended the law to prohibit online gambling, but they never did that.

Instead, they left it up to the individual states to decide whether or not to legalize or prohibit gambling in their territory. In the state of Maharashtra, online gambling is completely prohibited, whereas, in the states of Sikkim and Goa, online gambling is officially legal and regulated.

In most other Indian states, there are no specific laws regarding online gambling, which makes it a legal grey area. For example, in the state of Tamil Nadu, it is neither legal nor illegal to gamble online. Therefore, it is not a prosecutable offense to gamble online in any state except Maharashtra.

We understand that some people may have different interpretations of the law, but after having consulted with Mr. Manoj Mishra and several other legal experts in India, they have ensured us that online gambling is not a prosecutable offense, and no one has ever been convicted or let alone prosecuted for online gambling.

The law simply states that gambling providers may not operate on Indian territory unless expressly allowed by the individual states. That is why all of the betting sites and online casinos we recommend are located outside India. It is still completely legal and possible for Indian players to start an account and place bets with these online gambling sites.

Horse racing is legal but cricket is not

In 1996, it was decided by the Supreme Court of India that horse race betting should be legal because it is skill-based rather than based on luck. This beckons the question, why is horse race betting based on skill when cricket or football bet is not? It takes at least the same amount of skill to predict the outcome of a cricket match, no?

Although we certainly agree that horse race betting should be legal, it seems completely ridiculous to make this distinction from any other sport. The only reason why policymakers decided to legalize horse race betting, is because they know that if they prohibited this, it would be the end of horse breeding in India, which has become a very profitable and prominent industry in India.

One could then ask, isn’t it kind of hypocritical to say gambling is illegal, but still legalize gambling on a few select sports such as horse racing and rummy? This is a classic example of the contradictory gambling laws of India. The government should be consistent in its policy and legalize gambling on all sports throughout India.

When will gambling be fully legalised in India?

The Indian Government is perfectly aware that many citizens are engaged in online gambling and if they wanted to illegal, they would have amended the current law to include the prohibition of online gambling. This has never been done, which means that online gambling continues to be legal in India to this day.

Now the government of India and many state governments are debating whether to legalize gambling in India completely. We believe that this would be a very smart thing to do. It would allow the government of India to collect taxes on the enormous online gambling industry. Citizens donating all this tax money to foreign governments.

It would help the Indian people feel more comfortable with online gambling. Knowing that not only legal, but also sanctioned and regulated by the federal government of India.

Please note that the information found on this page does not constitute legal advice.

Is Gambling Illegal In Indiana

Do I risk anything by gambling in India?

In our opinion, no. According to some of the top legal experts in India. They do not know anyone who has been prosecuted or convicted for online gambling ever.

Best Casino Sites In India

In India, don’t we have a large middle-class population with a disposable income, a passion for sports, and a desire to gamble? (Hint — ‘no’ is not the correct answer).

A survey says that 40% of all internet users in India like to gamble. Though the existing legal framework makes it illegal, nothing can stop Indians, right? The illegal gambling market in India is worth more than $100 billion, growing at a rate of 7% every year! Majority of it is sports betting.

If the legal framework has failed to prevent gambling from taking place and if it is unstoppable, then why not regulate it so that at least some of the illegal activities can be curbed?

Well, let’s evaluate.

The Indian law discriminates each game to be a “game of skill” and “game of chance”. This differentiates fantasy sports from traditional betting. Betting in “game of skill” is legal in India. Fantasy sports betting is legal because it is a game of skill. And, in fantasy sports, your opponents are other human players, rather than bookmakers like in traditional betting. The ‘Dimmag se Dhoni’ campaign by Dream11 was aimed at reaffirming this skill-based nature.
Compared to traditional betting, the fantasy sports market in India is peanuts. Revenue from the music industry, movies and TV put together is far lesser than the market of illegal traditional sports betting.

Traditional sports betting is legal in many parts of the world, including Australia and western Europe, with the largest legal market in the UK. Football betting leads to the global sports betting industry. According to FIFA, an estimated amount of $136 billion dollars was wagered in the 2018 World Cup throughout the tournament, and $7.2 billion on the final match. This is way more than the bets placed on ‘The Money Fight’ between Mayweather and McGregor (around $100 million). This shows the strength in popularity of the game among ‘punters’.

Other popular sports for betting are Cricket, Tennis and Basketball. Around 80% of illegal sports betting in India is on Cricket.
According to research, more than 60% of sports bets placed globally are on the black market. This shows that the underground betting market would continue to operate even if India were to legalize sports betting.

Though the legal sports betting market won’t substitute the illegal one, the Indian government would gain from the tax revenues by taxing these activities. Take UK or China, for example, they have been utilizing tax revenues, generated from taxing betting activities, for good causes. Today, winnings from lotteries and horse races are taxed at 30% flat. A betting market, with such a huge potential, shall undoubtedly contribute hefty revenue to the government.
But as far as the intention of the government is concerned, it is not in favour of providing any support or allowing any type of FDI in betting platforms. Is it their morality that is stopping them? Because morals shall not stop Indians. Indians are betting in billions. Though it is perfectly reasonable and acceptable for someone to have a moral or personal objection to gambling.

And, it’s not just the government who would make money. Consider this: Allowing viewers to legally become sports bettors will make them more likely to watch sports. This will help the broadcasters due to an increase in viewership. Thus, the direct output, jobs, income, GDP, etc.
Employees in illegal sports betting operations currently spend a portion of their earnings on legal activities, so there would be a gain in legal economic activity. If this new sector emerges, it shall be needless to say that it will spark employment and also create new opportunities for startups.

Leagues tend to benefit too due to increased interest and engagement with games. But a proper framework should be developed by the government first. Else, it could kill the legal market before it even starts. There is no single rule or law for sports betting which can be applied across the globe. Different countries have followed a different approach based on socio-economic needs, public interest, political interest, etc.

The approach adopted by France has been widely criticized as involving excessive taxation and bureaucracy. As a result, many operators who originally decided to take licenses in France have found it impossible to carry on business.

India can learn a lot from this example if it wants the industry to flourish and contribute to GDP and the state revenue. After betting was legalized in the US, many leagues, including the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Major League Baseball (MLB), demanded a 1% fee on bets placed on their games. This is what they called the “integrity fee” to monitor and investigate ethical concerns. The casino lobby opposed this fee, making a point that the games would be in operation regardless of the number of bets placed. They had a point though.

A proper framework should be developed to avoid such clashes.
Rules would also need to be framed to tax a betting firm based on where the customer is located, not based on where the firm is located. Because, if this approach is not followed, then bets placed offshore, by Indian customers, would generate no revenue to the state.

Why Is Gambling Illegal In India Now

If you are an Indian and a cricket fan (or should I say — if you’re an Indian, you are a cricket fan), you would’ve heard about the match-fixing cases. Integrity in sports is crucial. If the betting is legalized, integrity and honesty will be under great threat. Match-fixing and spot-fixing would drastically increase. Athletes and players will be tempted. Creating a framework for controlling access to players, a few days before the match, would be the best way to mitigate this risk.

We mentioned earlier that more than 60% of sports bets placed globally are on the black market. When international bookmakers participate in betting activities in India, it encourages money laundering to support the outflow of funds. Systems such as Hawala or smuggling not only help in achieving this objective but also indirectly support criminal activities such as terrorism financing. So, legalizing the activity will not only help in curtailing an important source of black money but will also stop fund flows to terror agencies.

There is no doubt that regulating sports betting with proper laws will be better than banning it. Else, there would be a substantial monetary loss which is neither feasible nor desirable.

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