Sports Ministry to consider online legal betting in India

What’s the story?

For years, betting has been a major topic of discussion among the top brass of Indian sport. The legality of betting has often been called into question and as it appears, some strides appear to have been made. According to a report from APN, informal consultations have already begun to prepare specific laws on online betting in the country. The next step is to get confirmation from the Sports Ministry and government on the matter, which as things stand, isn’t forthcoming.

“No such proposal has been made to me. I am against betting. I am one of those who banned gambling. But the final decision rests with the Government of India,” said the Union Sports Minister, Vijay Goel according to the report.

The Sports Ministry, however, appears to be taking inspiration from its British counterparts in order to understand the online betting world. “The UK has one of the most effective gambling laws. We hope to understand their system and see if it is possible to introduce it in India,” a ministry official was reported to have revealed.

In case you didn’t know…

Currently, 28 per cent GST can be levied on betting on horse racing in India and no such laws regarding online betting have been formulated yet. The UK, however, enjoys proper regulations on online betting with famous websites such as bet365, Skybet and Betway already doing the rounds.

The heart of the matter

Ministry officials continue to remain concerned over the regulatory procedure regarding online betting, with the industry becoming too difficult to manage in a diverse country such as India. In the UK, reliable and credible sources are responsible for administering service and establishing the same in India would be seemingly difficult.

That being said, A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed by Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas in the UK to establish a concrete understanding of the online betting world.

What’s next?

While the MoU is far from a confirmation on the legalisation of online betting in the country, it does offer perspective on what the government wishes the future of betting to be in the country. It is possible that after being fed up with all the betting enquiries in the country, gaming laws on the matter could prompt legalisation in the near future.

Author’s take

With details still reasonably sketchy, and the Sports Minister far from willing to legalise betting, it could be a while before betting in India could become an easy affair. As of right now, betting enthusiasts in the country remain in awe of their British counterparts.