New Delhi, Dec 28: Gambling in India has been a major talking point since online gambling was possible in India. Today, there are a large variety of online casinos open for Indian residents. Although the laws do not generally favour gambling, there are no laws which prohibit participation on online gambling sites; therefore, Indian residents can freely register on these gambling sites without any hindrances.
As a result of this, there has been some talk about the Indian government legalizing online gambling. This is based on a 150-page long report which was addressed by the Law Commission of India (LCI) to the Indian government. This report recommended that the government legalise and regulate online gambling since there’s hardly anything the government can do concerning residents accessing these offshore casino sites.
Recommendations by the LCI included that the Indian government should establish several restrictions which reduce problems related to gambling and the laundering of money. One of these includes making online gambling transactions cashless as well as linking players’ ID numbers and tax-based Permanent Account Numbers.
It also recommended that gambling be grouped into “small” and “proper” categories. It suggested that individuals with only certain income levels be permitted to engage in proper gambling (gambling with higher stakes). As for individuals with low incomes or who relied on assistance from the government, such persons be completely barred from legal gambling.
Another included that there be increased limits for depositing, wins and losses. Also, it stated that there should be a limit on permitted transactions based on an individual’s finances.
Another recommendation included that strictly licensed operators in India be allowed to provide legal gambling services. It also encouraged that laws be made to also attract foreign investors into the Indian casino industry.
Another recommendation included that controversial as well as pornographic contents shouldn’t be put on display on these websites. The suggestion recommended that laws on IT should be altered to make sure technical agents are not subjected to prosecution for spreading subjects pertaining to legalized gambling.
These reports also emphasized that if gambling is regulated, it will contribute in form of tax revenues to the Indian government. Another benefit would include an increase in domestic jobs and expansion of tourism.
As regards taxation revenues, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) stated that up to ?3 lakh crore was transacted for the purpose of chat rooms, offshore sites as well as sportsbooks. It was stated that the government was also losing up to ?19,000 crore taxation revenue yearly by refusing to legalize sports betting and online gambling.
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) also persuaded the Indian government to adhere to the recommendations of the LCI by regulating and making land-based and online sports betting by “Indian-licensed operators from India” legal. The AIGF supports the stance of the LCI in its position on international gambling sites as it aims to ensure only operators licensed in India are permitted to operate.
The AIGF requested that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi block payments between local gamblers and international sites. It even went as far as naming 9 sites some of which include Jeetwin.com, Bet365.com, 1xbet, BodogIndia.com and Betfair.com and accused them of enticing and collecting bets from residents of India, consequently making them susceptible to gambling addiction.
The AIGF claimed that they broke Indian laws as gambling was not permitted centrally, as well as the Foreign Exchange Management Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, since they accepted payments from Indian gamblers online.
However, the government has not made any moves which seem like the government may not be fully against online gambling. Therefore, the status quo is still maintained.
These issues were raised prior to the elections in May 2019. However, with the conclusion of the elections and the successful re-election of the Prime Minister, many are hopeful that this will be one of the issues to be addressed in his second term.