Sports betting a step closer to legal status

One of the key recommendations of the committee was: ‘Legalisation for betting and Criminalisation for match-fixing’.

The commission is exploring various legal options to suggest to the Centre and the top court to bring a law regulating online sport betting and gambling. While gambling is a subject on the state list in the Constitution – meaning it is for the states to legislate on it – activities on the internet can be regulated through a central act.

“The proposed law can have provisions to make sure that a person does not become (a) habitual (bettor/gambler); he cannot bet more than a certain number of times in one year or put on stake more than a certain percentage of his wealth,” Chauhan said. One of the proposals being studied by the panel is the creation of a gaming commission and providing all-india licences to game-operators and book-keepers.

“The Information Technology Act has provisions to protect vulnerable sections, including children and the poor. Also, Article 249 gives Parliament the power to legislate on a matter in the State List citing national interest,” the LCI chairman explained.

Commission officials feel that by not making betting and gambling accessible legally, the government loses the opportunity to both protect citizens from harm and generate revenues by taxing the activity.

“Strict rules against betting and gambling have not necessarily acted as a deterrent. Online gambling and betting is another area which has become very difficult to curb,” the commission had observed while inviting suggestions from stakeholders and the public in June this year.

Industry lobby group FICCI estimated in a 2013 report that the underground market for betting on cricket is roughly worth Rs 300,000 crore. The tax revenue from legalised betting could be up to a quarter of that amount, according to the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) which has