With IPL 10 season on the cards and the growing popularity for football in India the betting on sports go a long way in the Indian sub-continent. It is time to legalise both gambling in casinos and betting as in Western Countries and Singapore. Whenever there is a bloated money chest a scam is inevitable, especially in a game of cricket. This is exactly what has happened in the high profile IPL and in the cricket matches played in India. And there is betting taking place for predicting weather forecast, monsoon rains and election results as well. It is time we legalise betting with betting huts in grounds outside every ground so that even retired people can make some money by sitting at home. It is not a healthy practice but for wealthy people it will become a hobby during spare time and winning and losing a bet may not matter much for them.
Casino houses play a crucial role and provide the Government good revenue on an ongoing basis. In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates various types of gambling activities. And the industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping Malls or other tourist attractions. There is much debate over whether or not the social stigma but in reality it work wonders in creating human chain which wish and long to win all the time and be part of the system to make money by hook or crook. But proper security should be provided to such dens as infighting is possible on winning or losing or when the legalised methods are overlooked to gain advantage. In India we come across soft targets and cheating will prevail outside such dens even though strict strictures are followed within four walls of the Casinos.
The idea sounds good in legalising betting and gambling in Casinos but repercussions may not be so ideal for Indian conditions as the poor and lower middle class may suffer in joining the league in a big way and lose heavily against all odds and resort to heavy borrowings. The loser may resort to drinking habit also and drugs may also become a part of the system in the high profile places.
There are many legal gambling websites in the European Union which offer safe and secure regulated games for poker, casino, bingo and sports betting, where you can be certain in times you win, you will be paid. Most of these sites can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection. So the question here becomes, how does India regulate or punish a website, which have long histories in the United Kingdom, hold European gambling license, and operate totally legally from where their servers, office and support departments are located. There lies the real success of such a venture if undertaken in India in true spirits.
Arati Ramaswamy
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
