Should the Indian Government Regulate Gambling in the Country
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All over the world, gambling remains to be one of the most popular pastimes across various cultures and regions. This is especially true in a country like India wherein activities like horse race betting or slots games are rampant. It’s considered by most of the population to be a perfectly legitimate form of casual recreation. Aside from that, India is also considered one of the most technologically competent and advanced nations in the world. This is important to note because the online gambling industry has been experiencing substantial growth, especially over the past few years. Since the Indian population has a natural inclination to the activity of gambling paired with their technological aptitude, it’s expected that online gambling would be a very popular activity.
However, currently, gambling is technically not allowed in India. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a central law that disallows the practice of gambling in the country. However, it’s important to note that this piece of legislation was enacted back in 1867 and many of its detractors will argue that it’s rather outdated. In fact, the language in the law is so vague that it technically only doesn’t allow for gambling when it comes to games of chance. Therefore, games that require a certain level of skill don’t technically qualify for the prohibition. This is how many individual states in India have circumvented Federal law and have allowed the operation of state-legal gambling houses and establishments.
Currently, despite all the legal restrictions, the Indian gambling market is thriving and is one of the biggest in the world. Technically, if the law is to be taken at its word, then gambling in all shapes and forms as we know it today should be illegal. However, many citizens in India still manage to engage in gambling on a daily basis. To this day, no private citizen in India has ever been charged for violating gambling laws in terms of participating in gambling activities. This is why there is a substantial call for the Indian government to not just legalize gambling but also regulate it. Currently, all of the money that circulates within the gambling market in India can’t be accounted for by the Indian government due to its illegality. According to a 2010 KPMG report, it’s estimated that the gambling market in India is worth around US$60 billion. With that kind of cash floating around the black market, it’s becoming more and more compelling for the Indian government to start taxing the flow of this money.
Aside from that, there’s an argument to be made for the employment opportunities that the gambling industry would be able to generate for Indian citizens. It doesn’t just have to do with dealers or floor managers who directly deal with customers. Gambling houses and casinos could also create jobs for custodians, security personnel, culinary personnel, and hospitality employees. Naturally, this would boost the middle class and the greater economy of India as well. This is a very compelling argument when you take into consideration the fact that millions of people in India are unemployed. Unfortunately, unemployment still remains to be one of the most pressing issues in India today.
With regards to the path forward, the first and most immediate step that the Indian government could take is to amend the constitution so as to recognize gambling as a legal activity from the perspective of the state. The constitutional amendment is necessary so that any legislation made by parliament will not be deemed unconstitutional or ambiguous. Next, the government should look to establish regulatory bodies that will directly oversee and manage the operations of gambling institutions within the country. Of course, whatever follows should also be subject to budgetary allocations that are provided by the government for the purposes of improving this economic sector.
Ultimately, given that some states in India already have legalized gambling structures, it’s not too hard to see how the rest of the states could follow. It’s really just a matter of fixing constitutional amendments so as to accommodate more progressive gambling legislation in the future. At the end of the day, there are many reasons why it’s a good idea for India to actually regulate its gambling activities.
