Prohibition, Ban and criminalization have been the most common response by the central or state governments in India to any serious, social or ethical issue related to gambling since the British government abolished the Gambling Act. Public gambling in 1867. Although the prevention method appears to be more difficult to solve the problems related to the age of information, and may have negative effects, the rules of real gambling give players game protection, protection of the vulnerable, good business practices and a significant increase in tax collection.
Research has shown that the total annual gambling and betting business in India reached $130 billion (about 9.5 lakh crore) in 2018 after growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% since 2012. Assuming this pace is maintained, the market size in 2022 can be estimated as $170 billion or about 13 lakh crore.
Online gaming has been estimated as a small segment of less than 2% of the country's betting and gambling market and its size in 2020 is worth $2.8 billion or ?22,500 crore. Nevertheless, the internet segment has seen a huge growth of almost 40% every year.
Obviously, legal bans and bans on gambling at the state level have failed to eradicate or even reduce the amount of gambling and betting in India. Even if the court orders like the ban on all gambling in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are not approved, such measures cannot stop citizens from accessing any Paytm casino of their choice or going to a back-end bookie.
Worse, the ban causes gambling activities to go underground, where more risks and harms can be caused. Protection against fraud and cheating is non-existent, addicted and exploited gamblers are tolerated, and debt collection methods can quickly worsen the current situation. Legitimate businesses are starving, and instead of collecting taxes and welfare, the money goes into the hands of criminals.
It is important to change direction
All of these require a systematic change from simple efforts to prevent real gambling to serious efforts to control such activities and make them follow reasonable laws. There are many signs that this idea has entered the politics of India, but there is still a long way to go before the country can join the growing number of international countries that control their access. Gambling for similar reasons.
Recommendations for regulating betting and gambling tax were made by the Cricket Reforms Committee in 2015 and the Law Commission of India in 2018, and made by the Rajya Sabha in December 2021. Several high courts and Supreme Court benches have also recommended the rule of law is. reasonable way forward.
Two separate bills have been proposed to regulate gambling in the lower house of parliament, the first - the Gambling (Online Gambling and Prevention of Cheating) Bill, 2018, passed in the 16th Lok Sabha. Second - Online gambling fees, 2022 is still an active plan. Despite the many flaws in the opinion of experts, the introduction of this bill shows the growing awareness among Indian politicians and the class of the benefits of centrally controlled gambling and the risk of losing jobs such uncontrolled.
Global Best Practices in Gambling Law
Another positive development made by India is the formation of a group of government officials mandated to look at global best practices in the field and come up with a comprehensive legal framework to regulate gambling in the country.
The common features of gambling laws in many countries such as Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Germany and others are the establishment of national gambling regulatory authorities, the introduction of licensing systems and emphasis on player protection and gambling.
Modern gambling regulations are designed to protect gamblers from the many risks associated with it, from cheating and foul play, to drug addiction and other mental health problems, and money and increased debt.
This is done through comprehensive legal and preventive measures, as well as the responsibility of those who work to identify and protect problem gamblers and provide gambling services to staff and support systems.
Other important benefits of gambling regulations include ensuring a favorable and predictable business environment for entrepreneurs and investors, job creation and a significant increase in tax collection and productive capacity. better - to be of the government.
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