Early Indian study results suggest legalisation is the better option for gambling

In the wake of the cricket corruption scandals three years ago the Indian Supreme Court tasked the Law Commission with examining whether betting should be legalised, and this week Commission chairman Justice B.S. Chauhan revealed some preliminary findings, suggesting that regulation and control may be a more effective approach than prohibition.

Justice Chauhan said gambling and betting clearly had the potential to create problems in society, but added that it did not justify a complete ban.

“It must be kept in mind that these adverse effects arise not from gambling per se, but are a result of excessive gambling which results in addiction. Harm resulting from excess is not limited to gambling alone, as an excess of anything may negate its benefits,” he said at a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the All India Gaming Federation.

“The response of the state in such a situation should be to regulate the activity , not seek to stop it completely. Legalisation would give the government the opportunity to bring gambling out from the dark corners of society , impose controls and extract some revenue…if betting were legal then a huge chunk of money that, at the moment circulates only round the black market, would quickly become available,” he said.

Justice Chouhan said regulation would aid in the fight against sports corruption, and that the total betting market was worth around the equivalent of US$60 billion a year, with the potential to generate up to US$2.6 billion in taxation for government coffers if it were regulated and taxed.

However, he qualified his comments by saying that first it was essential that a comprehensive study be completed on the social, economic and moral implications of legalising betting and gambling in the light of constitutional guidelines.

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