Legalization of Cricket Betting in India 2021
The last two years have been crazy, to say the least. The world has had to come to grips with a pandemic that has crippled economies and destroyed the mental and physical well-being of people from all over. There are several industries that have not been able to cope with the pandemic and have to shut down. On the flip side, there is one industry that has absolutely flourished and that is online gambling. Online gambling has been a big revenue driver for countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany. Turn on the television in either of these countries and you are mostly going to come across a gaming advert in a few minutes. However, in the last few years, the online gaming market has had to face regulation in these countries. Tightening of rules around data collection and usage has meant that most online casinos and operators have left these once lucrative markets. These companies simply have not had the resources to deal with the requirements of regulation and have had to look elsewhere to generate their revenues. That new frontier has in fact become India.
A country known for its rich culture and love for cricket has now also become home to online gambling. This is despite gambling being considered illegal in most parts of India. Yes, as you may already be aware, as per the Gambling Act of 1867, acts of gambling are considered to be illegal. Those found guilty of providing gambling-related services and those taking part in these services can be prosecuted, fined, and sent to jail. However, this has hardly served as a deterrent for offshore bookmakers. More bookmakers are now making their way toward India, trying to take advantage of the billion-plus people that the country has to offer. Increased competition between bookmakers and online casinos means that they will offer better and more lucrative products to their players.
Most online casinos coming into India offer no deposit bonuses meaning you can try out their games for free for a short period of time before making a deposit. When it comes to making a deposit, most reputable websites have all the local payment methods such as UPI / Netbanking needed for the customer to make successful deposits and withdrawals. You can find the latest features, welcome bonuses, and other aspects associated with betting by having a quick look at cricketbettingwali.in (CBW). CBW provides a comprehensive list of both online casinos and cricket betting sites, providing in-depth and unbiased reviews. These reviews will give you a good indication of the pros and cons of the different gaming sites and will help you in your decision should you choose to play at them.
Now when it comes to actually playing at these sites, the new head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made his stance clear on the legality of these sites. Shabir Hussein Shekhadam Khandwawala, a former director-general of police in the state of Gujarat has opposed the idea of legalizing sports betting. Khandwawala had taken over from Ajit Singh as BCCI’s ACU Chief on the 1st of April this year. While Ajit Singh was more receptive to the idea of legalizing sports betting, Khandwawala seems to believe that betting will ultimately give rise to match-fixing. Khandwawala supports the stance taken by the government to have not legalized betting so far.
BCCI is an important body in India and is by and large considered to be the most powerful cricketing body with an estimated income of half a billion in 2020. A massive sum no doubt which pales in comparison to the money generated by the underground cricket betting market. That underground market is estimated to be worth at least US$45 billion. Doha’s International Centre for Sports Security has estimated that for every time India plays an ODI, an estimated $200 million worth of betting takes place. This is the number of bets that are handled for a single one-day international.
However, we believe that legalizing and regulating the betting scene in India will provide benefits. There are examples of several countries such as the UK, Germany, and Italy. These have thrived after the betting market was made legal. Just the revenue generation for the government will be enough and can be utilized to curb the other evils of society including acts of terrorism, match-fixing, and so on and so forth.
