Millions of Indians visit online bookies and online casinos each day. Research has shown that a huge majority of India’s population has participated in these activities at least once in their lifetime. Although the preferred method was by visiting land-based facilities, in the past few years, online casinos and online bookies have had a massive breakthrough and became extremely popular.
These sites offer tons of bonuses and promotions, have better payout percentages, etc. But, there is one problem. They are formally illegal. We wanted to touch on this subject a bit by telling you how popular betting and gambling is, what is the current status, and what are the advantages of legalizing online casinos and online bookies. Let’s begin.
IPL 2020 is Breaking Records
When it comes to online betting, wagering money online on the Indian Premier League is by far the most popular type of betting. Cricket is something that Indians live for and this sport is the holy Mecca for the people.
The new season is set to start in mid-September and the betting options for IPL 2020 are already open. There are plenty of available odds and they are fantastic. Bookies have reported that a record number of bets are being placed, which just proves how popular cricket and online betting generally is.
Thousands of people place bets each day and the number is set to increase even more once the season starts.
Current Status
We mentioned that online betting and gambling is illegal at the beginning of the article. So you must be confused as to how people are managing to place bets on the IPL? Well, here’s the explanation. The Public Gambling Act of India deems this activity illegal, but the law is obsolete. It lacks proper regulation of online casinos and online bookies, which is why they fall under its grey area.
The only specific law that is mentioned is that Indian-based online casinos and bookies are not allowed to operate. But, offshore companies can offer their services to the Indians, since Indian law has no power over them.
So, since these activities are not regulated at all and there are sites which offer their services, it is pretty easy for Indians to access them without facing any consequences. All the players have to do is learn a few things about these sites and how they operate and they are ready to wager their money online.
Advantages of Legalizing Online Gambling/Betting
There are several advantages of legalizing these sites. First off, they pay millions of dollars in taxes. Secondly, they employ thousands of people and help the country deal with the unemployment rate. Lastly, by legalizing them, India has the potential to become the centre of development of this industry, which can be a massive boost and many pros will come out of that.
We also wanted to mention that Indians access these sites regardless of how the law deems them. The complicated status that the law has with online gambling and betting sites has produced several conflict situations. One of the most popular is the one with Virat Kohli. This famous cricketer was criticized for promoting gambling sites and some people even went as far as signing a petition to put him behind bars. We can’t help but think that this situation would’ve never taken place if this activity was regulated.
To help you understand the situation better, here’s a statement by Fredrik Brannlund, Co-Founder of ENV Media “It’s understandable to see such a dramatic backlash towards these promoters of online gambling, however demonizing the industry as a whole is not the answer. People will always find a way to gamble and it is, therefore, of much more benefit for India as a whole to be consciously aware of this and start introducing regulations to the industry.”
After all, a big majority of the population has already registered at these sites and the only way to control their activity is by making them legal and creating laws which will regulate them.