A recent report in the Times of India explains how more and more Indians are turning to online gambling. It is clear that by moving India's gambling industry into the online sphere there would be enormous benefits for both the Indian government and the Indian betting public.
Online gambling is growing throughout the world. As the black friday law case involving the Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker websites in the United States has demonstrated, even North America is succumbing to the growing online gambling industry. States such as Nevada and New Jersey are working hard to bring in legislation that will legalise online gambling in those states.
The growth of internet betting has worked to remove from people's mind the seedy and criminal associations that people have historically made with the gambling industry. Properly regulated, trustworthy and well run companies that produce jobs and pay taxes are beginning to turn the heads of many governments who had previously outlawed such activities.
The vast majority of Western Europe now offer online gambling in a regulated environment and they are reaping the dividends of such a move. Indian politicians, however, are yet to make much progress on this front. Two small states, Goa and Sikkim, have clearly made some progress on this front but for online gambling in India to fulfil it's full potential, it needs proper federal legislation.
Government Benefits
Legalising gambling would offer a set of clear benefits to the Indian Government. As the Times of India highlighted in their article on Tuesday there are enormous tax incentives that come with legalising online gambling. As the Indian Rupee continues to weaken against the dollar, questions are being asked about the state of the economy.
A conservative estimate would value the Indian online gambling industry at $5 billion. When looking at all forms of betting such as Sports, Casino, Lottery, Housie and Poker there is every chance that that market could be worth vastly more than that. If that industry was then taxed at a conservative rate of just 20% (many states charge 30% or more), then an annual revenue of $1 billion could be added to the state revenues.
Although not an insignificant amount, in terms of a state economy $1 billion does not actually go particularly far. The economies, however, go much farther than just tax revenue. Legalising online gambling would produce an enormous number of jobs. Much of the global gambling industry already outsource much of their technical work to places such as Hyderabad and Bangalore and if gambling was legalised that employment sector would soar.
Technology industries would benefit as well as entrepreneurs throughout India. From small start ups to the likes of TATA and Kingfisher, it is likely that businesses throughout India would try and take advantage of the lucrative pie that is online gambling. The sector would deliver thousands of jobs, once again contributing to both local and national economies.
Beyond the clear economic benefits of legalising gambling there are also a number of social benefits. One of the main associations people in India make with gambling is crime. There are clear links to the criminal underworlds of Delhi and Mumbai and it would be possible to remove these criminals by legalising gambling.
Bookies in India have links with and are controlled by the criminal bosses that hold such enormous influence within India. It uses up police time and money cracking down on these unpleasant criminals who run gambling dens which raise funds for their other illicit activities. So whilst illegal gambling may not seem sinister at first glance, it is once you see the indirect effects that you see how bad it is for society. Gambling money funds other forms of criminality and by legalising online gambling the government could significantly reduce that
The one difficulty that remains is the conservative anti gambling lobbies that wield so much political influence in india. The new Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar has been faced with action from a number of anti gambling groups and has had to make a whole host of concessions regarding the state's policies on gambling. With Goa being one of the most liberal state's in India one can see how it may be politically difficult for other states to make similar movements on gambling as Goa have done. Legalised online gambling, however, will pose huge benefits to the ordinary citizen and punter as well as to state governments.
Individual Benefits
From the average Indian bettor's point of view, legalising gambling would be hugely beneficial. The middle classes are already turning to online gambling in huge numbers and as access to the internet through affordable products such as smart phones and tablets become easier, this growth looks set to continue.
Online betting allows punters to remove themselves from the shady dealings that come with betting with Indian street bookies. By betting with bookies punters are left with little choice about where to bet and they are often given very bad value bets. They are far more likely to lose when betting with these shady characters than when they are betting online.
When betting online there is more than one bookie to choose from and punters can make an informed decision about where they want to bet. They can choose where to bet based on how good the price of their bet is, whether they like a particular promotion or whether they find one betting site particularly useful or convenient. In this sense they have a lot of choice and as consumers they are given a far greater power.
Finally, when players play online with regulated and licensed companies those companies can keep track of players and make sure they are playing responsibly. If a player loses too much online they will be tracked and betting firms will direct that player to somewhere they can get help such as to the charity GambleAware and will block that user from their site. Players are therefore at a far smaller risk of becoming addicted and hurting themselves and their families.
We can see then that online gambling helps the individual consumer by giving them choice, safety and convenience. These are the main things that are lacking in the illegal bookmaking industry that make people so wary of them. By moving into the online sphere the betting world would be empowering the consumer at the cost of the predatory and criminal street bookmakers.
It is clear that online gambling is the way forward for Indians and there is already an enormous amount of momentum building growth in the Indian online gambling market. The Indian government have a choice, either they spend vast sums building expensive firewalls to block people from using online gambling sites and therefore promoting the criminal street bookmakers. On the other hand, by legalising and regulating the industry properly they could bring in significant tax revenue, help economic growth and also empower the gambling consumer.
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