‘India must legalise, regulate the whole gamut of gambling’

SARIKA PATEL, commissioner, Gambling Commission, the UK’s sector regulator, was in India recently to attend an event organised by All India Gaming Federation. Patel, a chartered accountant with over 25 years of experience in public and private sectors, shares her views with Sudipto Dey on why it is in the country’s interest to legalise and regulate the gambling sector. Edited excerpts: leisure pursuit. In my opinion anyone who wants to bet will bet, irrespective of whether the system is legitimate or illegitimate. If betting is illegal, it will push the system to dark basements. If betting is regulated, at least the players get protected. The operating companies, too, will have to work to protect their licences. That is the difference between legalising and regulating gambling. Just legalising gambling means companies in this There is no known case of match-fixing that has come to light in the English Football League. Legalising and regulating betting in sports only increases integrity. In the UK where sports betting are regulated, open and fair, we have the least amount of match-fixing issues. I definitely feel having everything fair and transparent in public eye, with the ability to regulate it, enquire when needed, brings in transparency. How has the spread of technology impacted regulatory practices? As technology progresses, it makes gambling more accessible. But technology is also able to protect the customer more. My view is that India can leapfrog and gain from technology changes and be able to track consumer spend and patterns of play to protect consumers.