Betting and Gambling in India

IN NEWS:

• Recently, the Centre has asked states to take action against online betting and gambling platforms that use outdoor media, such as hoardings and posters, to promote their websites and applications.

TERMINOLOGIES:

• Betting: Betting revolves around predicting the outcome of future events. People place bets by carefully predicting the outcome of a betted event. 
• Gambling: Here, 'the stakes' or 'the wager' is placed on an event without any basis of the outcomes gambling entirely relies on the theory of probability.
• Bookmaker/Bookie: Someone who facilitates gambling. A bookie sets odds, accepts, and places bets, and pays out winnings on behalf of other people.
• Spot fixing: Illegal activity in which a specific aspect of a game, unrelated to the final result, is fixed in an attempt to ensure a certain result in a proposition bet.
• Match fixing: The practice of dishonestly determining the outcome of a match before it is played.
• Court-siding/Pitch-siding: It is the practice of transmitting information from sporting events for the purpose of gambling, or of placing bets directly from a sporting event.

BETTING AND GAMBLING IN INDIA:

•  ‘Betting and gambling’ is a subject in the state list, and so only states are entitled to formulate laws for gambling activities within their respective states.
• Sports betting in India is mostly illegal except for betting on horse race. Some states like Goa have legalised casinos.
• The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a central law that prohibits running or being in charge of a public gambling house.
• The Indian law discriminates each game to be a “game of skill” and “game of chance”. Betting in “game of skill” is legal in India. This provision is being utilized by fantasy sports like Dream11.

WHY BETTING AND GAMBLING PERSIST IN INDIA:

• Grey areas in law:
  • Gambling laws in India does not have a clear distinction between ‘games of skills’ and ‘games of chance’. Also, the Information Technology Act 2000 regulates cyber activities in India does not mention the word Gambling or betting thereby the act was left for interpretation by the courts.
• Outdated legislations:
  • The existing legislations were devised in the colonial era and they provide weak punishments for violations. For eg: The penalty for breaking the Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a fine of Rs.200 or imprisonment of up to 3 months.
• Challenges in enforcement:
  • There are no specific laws that prohibit Indians from using online betting sites that are based in countries, where online sports betting is legal. It also becomes difficult to catch internet gambling offenders if the websites are hosted by servers located in countries where betting is legal.
• Favourable demography:
  • India has a large middle-class population with a disposable income and a passion for sports. This coupled with betting apps or websites that are convenient to use on the smartphone that attract common man into betting.
• Technological advances:
  • The growth of internet and smartphones has increased the access to betting and gambling. Also, the advent of virtual currency also gave a push to the online gambling market in India.
• Influence of money laundering:
  • The money generated from sports betting ends up in the underground economy and some is reinvested in betting. This perpetuates a cycle of betting and black money generation.
• Passion for the sport:
  • The Indian love for cricket and football has given a huge boost to the online sports betting industry in India.

SHOULD BETTING AND GAMBLING BE LEGALISED?

NO:

• Moral hindrance: Due to the influence of cultural epics like Mahabharata, betting and gambling are perceived negatively in the Indian society.  When a government facilitates such activities, it raises question of morality.
• Socio-economic impact: Betting and gambling is responsible for addiction, loss of livelihoods and bankruptcy. In fact, Governments in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Punjab have imposed bans on online gambling apps, because people died by suicide after they were pushed into ‘debts’ by gambling online.
• Weak enforcement system: The existing police and judicial system is already overburdened by cases and shortage of staff. Without strengthening them, legalising betting would further aggravate the socio-economic impact.
• Increases vulnerability to malpractices: If the betting is legalized, integrity and honesty will be under great threat. Match-fixing and spot-fixing would drastically increase and players will be more tempted.

YES:

• Financial benefit for government: The government would gain from the tax revenues by taxing betting and gambling. For example: UK and China they have been utilizing tax revenues, generated from taxing betting activities, for good causes.
• Benefits sports industry: 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.
• Curbs black money: Legalizing the activity will not only help in curtailing an important source of black money but will also stop fund flows to terror agencies.
• Supported by institutions: The 276th Law Commission of India reports suggesting Parliament enact a law to legalise and regulate betting in sports. Similarly, NITI Aayog had published draft guideline proposals in 2020 for establishing a strong online fantasy gaming sector in India.
• Helps restore trust in the game: The recurring match-fixing scandals has undermined the credibility of professional sports in India. Proper regulation can help restore the lost credibility.
• Already exists in India: Betting is legal in horse racing and casinos in some states. Hence, the question of morality over government legalising it does not stand.

WAY FORWARD:

• A robust regulatory framework governing the gaming sector will ensure that the benefits of betting and gambling are enjoyed while weeding out the issues.
• Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor had introduced the ‘The Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill’ in the Lok Sabha in 2018 to legalise and regulate betting in India. The bill provides some important measures towards regulation, like:
  • A comprehensive legislation for the regulation of online gaming.
  • Creation of a uniform technical and operational standards to monitor online betting platforms.
  • Maintain a centralized ledger of all transactions made on online betting platforms.
• Other measures that could be taken to regulate betting and gambling include:
  • Creating necessary infrastructure, such as police machinery, prosecutors, etc. before a law on betting is passed.
  • Linking betting records with the Aadhar/PAN Card of the operators and the participants for better accountability, as recommended by the law commission.
  • Awareness campaigns to educate people about the perils of excessive gambling.
  • Imposing limits on the amounts that can be wagered, based on a person’s financial capabilities.
  • Adopt global best practices from countries that have a well-established betting system, like the UK and USA.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Critically examine the demand for legalisation of sports-betting in India?