With the exception of cricket, sporting events in India are an exercise in despair—a fact that experts chalked up to scarce resources that continues to elude sports to this day.
This is the card that the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) is dealing Prime Minister Narendea Modi as it appeals for the legalization of sports betting in the country.
India is governed by a central law that prohibits gambling on games of chance called The Public Gaming Act 1867. Some states, however, started allowing gambling after the Supreme Court acknowledged that activities such as rummy and horse racing are skill-based pastimes.
So far, the state of Andhra Pradesh has allowed horse racing, rummy and a state lottery. Goa has ten casinos, seven of which are based on boats thus circumventing land based casino laws, and Karnataka allows horse racing and rummy. Maharashtra allows horse racing and a state-run lottery. Sikkim is in the process of applying for the right to offer online gambling, and government officials in West Bengal believe poker is a game of skill.
In Kerala, nonprofit AIGF has been pushing to amend the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960, which would legalize poker, bridge and fantasy sports.
Now, AIGF is dealing its cards before the central government.
In the letter to the prime minister, the gambling body said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry forecast a INR19,000 crore (USD2.86 billion) annual earnings from a 20 percent tax on sports betting and gaming activities. This puts sports betting behind print and television, which remit INR54,220 crore (USD8.15 billion) and INR28,340 crore (USD4.26 billion) each year.
“It is important to note that various industry bodies and jurists like Justice Lodha have recommended legalizing sports betting as an important measure to improve sporting facilities and eliminate fraud/betting in sports,” the group said in the letter, according to Business Standard.
The organization also suggested forming a sports lottery under the Lotteries Regulation Act, 1998, with the money going to sports infrastructure and welfare of athletes and “sportspersons” in the country.
In July, the Supreme ordered the Indian legislature at the central level to consider legalizing sports betting within the country, following a recommendation by the Lodha committee.
