Will India Ever Introduce Regulated Gambling?

Anyone who knows anything about the current set of gambling laws in India will know they are confusing at best, and certainly not really fit for purpose. With more and more people in the country turning towards gambling, even though there is nothing in place specifically saying it is legal, the country needs to do something.

But what will it do? There are seemingly two choices, the first is to strengthen the current laws and ban gambling in the country, an unlikely scenario. The second is to introduce laws which fully legalise gambling, and if they are doing that, India can also grab control and regulate the market.

At the moment online gambling sites in India work with licenses from other parts of the world, to show they are above board and regulated. India could bring in a gambling license of their own, which companies would need to acquire if they wanted to access the millions of customers in the country. Given how popular gambling is at the moment in India, from lotteries to sports betting and casino gaming, it would certainly be a license that would hold value and be sought after.

Why Would Regulated Gambling Help the Country?

There are many Indians who believe gambling should not be taking place in the country, while millions of others want it and want to take part. The situation we have at the moment means that the second group of people is seeing a benefit, the first isn’t.

While regulated gambling would bring gambling to the country for good, and would certainly make the economic news headlines, it may appease those who are opposed to it by bringing good to the country, such as creating jobs, and income which could be spent in many ways.

Many of the online gambling licenses out there require extensive checks, which brings jobs, some require offices for each company in the country, potentially more jobs. Then if India charges like others do for the license, that is money coming in that can be spent on either something related to gambling, or something completely different, all funded by gambling. It may not be the fix that everyone wants, but is a start, and would instantly give India a benefit to gambling in the country.

This would allow India to control its own destiny and protect players in the country. There needs to be a thriving gambling hub in place to allow the Indian government to be strict with companies coming in, but the last few years have shown that it is there. The strength of the license is higher when gambling is higher, you only need to look at the UK Gambling Commission and their work in the UK to see that.

There is of course the chance that India will simply sit back and do nothing, allowing things to continue as they are right now. However, if the country wants control, and some benefits alongside that, then regulated gambling is certainly something they should be looking at in the near future.