Should India Legalize Online Gambling During The Covid-19 Pandemic | Fusion - WeRIndia

Is it time for India to start examining the legalization of betting in the country? Why do we bring this question up during a time when the global pandemic is crushing economies around the world? Money.

People are not making enough of it and the government’s projected revenues from direct and indirect income tax sources are going down the drain. This is why we believe the move to legalize betting must be seen seriously and there are a number of factors working in its favor.

Betting is already widespread in India

It would be naive to believe that betting online on sports or other casinos is not already widespread in India. Almost all of the world’s top bookmakers operate in India and cater to its customers. There are smaller online casinos like LeoVegas that cater exclusively to the Indian public and have tried to remove all impediments to their ease of gambling.

Indians gamble large sums of money on casino games as well as sports like cricket and kabaddi online. That has not been stopped by making online casinos in India illegal and is not going to stop in the future as well.

States like Goa have reaped tremendous benefits from legalizing gambling and allowing casinos to flourish. State governments strapped for cash are already increasing taxes on liquor sales, fuel prices, and others to look for some revenue.

A massive source of revenue is going untapped by keeping gambling illegal.

Making betting legal will protect Indian citizens

Currently, Indian players have to go through a lot of hoops to try and bet money online. It is not difficult but it is a bit cumbersome. Unfortunately, Indian players do not have many recourses to help if they get scammed or if their money gets stuck in an online casino.

By making gambling entities such as LeoVegas licensed in India, the Indian government will be able to collect revenue as well as protect the interests of its citizens.

It is also not an insignificant amount of tax revenue that India is leaving on the table. That money could be used for building roads, hospitals, schools, and more. We tax ‘sin’ items very heavily in India and no one would mind an online casino paying heavy taxes.

People that have to bet will bet anyway. Might as well remove the illegal bookmakers, mafia, and other seedy elements from this chain and let the public benefit from it.

The need to raise capital from innovative sources is more now than ever before. India has resisted the temptation to dig up this pot of gold so far but it may be time to finally let the genie out of the bottle.

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