It is not easy to follow all the latest trends and changes in this hectic world and do it to the benefit of more than a billion people. Yet exactly this is the job of the Indian government and the people who are responsible for its people. The safety of its people represents the main goal of every nation’s authority. The gambling industry is one of the fastest growing and evolving, and even though it offers an amazing experience and other benefits to its consumers, it must be regulated and controlled. Gambling is meant to be a fun pastime, a hobby that can offer a chance to earn some money for the lucky ones. However, it can be used in a bad way, and create problems and even addiction. And the risks multiplied with its conquest of the online world. For these reasons, gambling laws are imposed and regularly adapted. Let us see what changes we can expect in India in the current year.
Popularity of Gambling in India
The story about gambling in India would offer lessons in history, culture, and tradition. The earliest records of gambling are recorded in the books Ramayana and the Mahabharata, making these activities present in this country for thousands of years. But since we don’t want to go that far with our subject of the new Indian gambling regulations, we will look into the data that is present about gambling nowadays. We can say that gambling was ever-present in this country, but its popularity sky-rocketed during the coronavirus lockdown. When this occurred, it caused an increase of 40 percent in the playing of online gambling games.
This was important as India represented 15 percent of the global gambling traffic at that moment. The lockdown passed, but the passion remained. All this data made the Indian gambling market one of the more important ones on a global scale. The biggest casino operators in the world paid close attention and realized that their presence in India was necessary. These were some of the main reasons why the projection for the current year states that the expected revenue from the online gambling market is around 3 billion USD. With the annual growth rate standing at 8.59 percent, we can expect the offer of online gambling only to get better.
The Risks of Modern-Day Gambling in India
The online world offers a lot of chances and exciting opportunities; however, it is also full of dangers for its consumers. We are shifting our whole lives to online platforms to do business, stay in touch, meet new people, or simply perform everyday mundane tasks. In our increased usage of these tools to make our lives easier or more fun, malicious people appeared with a mission of taking advantage of both consumers and business owners. There are so many cases of hackers who manage to take money or private information from a person.
And even though the thought of losing money is scary for everyone, the fact that they can lose private information should be far scarier. Identity thefts lead to far more problems. Also, people often wonder if it is even legal to play online casinos in India, among other questions they have. And these establishments are the perfect targets for hackers as they possess the databases and funds they want. Besides the fear of being attacked online, there are also scams, frauds, and other risks. They are present for both players and casino operators. These types of unlawful and illegal behavior may make business owners look for other places to conduct their business and, in that way, hurt the country.
Importance of the Gambling Industry and Its Regulation for India
Some people are not so supportive of the gambling industry or even interested in playing it. But even they may benefit from its presence. Many countries have found a way to utilize it to their benefit by regulating and taxing it. It is the proactive thinking of government officials that made this available. First, it is needed to create proper legislation to create guidelines for casino owners. After that, a set of governing bodies responsible for regulating the work of the gambling establishments and issuing the licenses. By allowing them to work in proper conditions, all that is left is to tax the money that is being earned. This income can be used to improve the internet infrastructure and build roads, hospitals, schools, and more.
Changes for Gambling Laws in 2024
The law that regulates gambling in India is outdated and the current year is perfect for updates. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is still the one that governs the gambling activities. It is outdated and doesn’t cover online activities. To resolve this the government issued the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the Consumer Protection Act in 2019, yet the laws are still not precise when it comes to defining wagering activities. These acts covered online payments and cases in which fraud was occurring on online platforms.
To make things even more complex, Schedule 7 of the Indian Constitution states that each state in India can regulate wagering in its territory independently. The problem occurs in the interpretation by different courts and officials of what is considered a game of skill and what is a game of chance. That creates a paradox where in some states it is legal to gamble and in others, it is not. And they are all part of India. This lack of uniformity and clarification is something that cannot be allowed to continue, as the market is at its most delicate moment and changes are necessary.
Conclusion
In a country where gambling has been popular for thousands of years, it is unthinkable that the gambling law has been unchanged for 157 years. During the most popular competition in the country, the Indian Premier League of Cricket, around 350 million Indians are betting at online casinos and sports books. This suggests that the need for changes in gambling legislation is necessary if they want to compete with other markets in the world. 2024 seems like the perfect opportunity for a unified stance about gambling in the country and improvements of all the necessary laws.
