Supreme Court of India Supports Sports Betting to Combat Illegal Gambling

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Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

Whether or not to allow legal sports betting is a hotly debated topic in many parts of the world these days. On the one hand, there are proponents of sports betting stating that allowing regulated wagering cuts down on crime and provides revenues for governments. On the other, there are opponents who worry that sports betting causes gambling addiction, and that it can lead to corruption in professional sports, ruining the integrity of games. The arguments for and against sports betting is currently a hotly debated subject in India, and it’s beginning to look like the government may turn toward the pro sport betting stance.

Current Situation

In India, lotteries and horse racing wagers are generally permitted, while sports betting and online gambling are ruled to be against the law. Having said that, it is left to the individual states to decide whether or not to allow gambling, but to date just three of India’s 29 states and 7 union territories have taken the expanded gambling route, namely Goa, Daman, and Sikkim. According to estimates, India’s gambling market is worth roughly $60 billion per year, $20 billion of which is generated by illegal gambling operations.

Rampant Illegal Betting

Because the nation now has a quickly developing economy, more people in India have money to spend on leisure activities, and according to reports, many Indians are using their extra money to place wagers on sporting events. Experts estimate that $150 billion is spent on illegal sports betting every year. Every one-day international game that the Indian cricket team plays reportedly brings in $200 million in bets alone. Consequently, more lawmakers are beginning to seriously consider it an advantageous move for India to legalize betting on cricket to bring in revenues for government coffers. As Aryama Sundaram, counsel for the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) explains:

“Betting on sports is done all over the world through legal channels. It is normally accepted behavior and pattern to bet on sports. Not making it legal results only in making normally law abiding people act in an illegal manner.”

A Formal Review

To examine the positive and negative impacts of legalizing sports betting, India’s Supreme Court appointed a panel of three experts, including the former Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court, RM Lodha. The panel spent a full year studying illegal sports betting and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which oversees professional cricket in the country of 1.25 billion people. Then, the panel wrote a formal report and submitted it to the court. The report found the following:

1: Sports Betting Would Be Beneficial

The panel felt that legalizing sports betting on cricket would dramatically reduce illegal activity in India and provide a continuous stream of income for Indian states.

2: Regulations Would Be Needed

The panel stated that in order to keep the game of cricket ethical, laws would need to be fixed to make fixing games an offense punishable by law.

3: Bettors Would Need Rules as Well

The panel also stated that people who profit from cricket would need to be banned from placing sports bets in order to keep the game fair.

4: Changes Must Be Made to the Control Board

The panel concluded that in order for sports betting to be successfully regulated, changes would need to be made to the current Board of Control for Cricket in India. The panel expressed concerns that the board as it currently exists would not be able to properly control the sport and crack down on illegal behavior. As a result, the panel made recommendations for the reorganization of the board.

Prospects of Success

With some Indian states assessing tax rates as high as 20 percent on horse racing and billions being spent on sports betting already in the country, it’s clear that there could be a lot of positives to legalizing wagering on cricket in the country. Only time will tell whether or not lawmakers will agree and decide to follow the recommendations of the panel. In the meantime, some of the country’s top lawmakers and politicians seem to back the findings of the Lodha committee report, including former Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal, senior Supreme Court advocate KTS Tulsi, and Dushyant Dave, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who commented:

“This is hypocrisy. Virtually in every other democratic country betting is legal. Making it legal would remove unnecessary evils and false persecution and prosecution. It would generate a healthy trend towards gaming and will be well regulated.”