Should India Legalize Gambling?

[akshaymalik84]

A taxmen recently said,"The betting on IPL games may be generating between Rs 25,000 crore and Rs 40,000 crore a year from India."With this much amount of black money circulating around and the involvement of criminals and underworld in gambling, there are risk that this money might go to terrorist and mafia. Legalizing the gambling can be a way to convert this black money into white and earn revenue through it. Many developed countries have legalized Gambling system.In UK, official data puts tax revenues from the gambling sector at £1.5 billion last year.In many countries the size of this sector was roughly equivalent to 1% of GDP in most member countries. Now, if we assume that gambling in India would be of a proportionate scale if it were legalized (that is, 1% of GDP), that would imply revenues of the order of Rs 62,000 crore. Legalizing can also bring back the money going in other countries through gambling.

What do you guys think, should India legalize gambling?

*If legalized it should be regulated also.

 

[vicky84]

I think its a good idea to legalize gambling. No doubt that it would generate more revenues and more jobs. And also it would stimulate economy..As far as regulation is concerned..Yes regulation is must..There is other side too..People might go bankrupt when gambling become addictive and can contribute to the rise in crime...

 

[vivekdh]

kam se kam Fuel hike se to accha idea hai ye to generate more revenues.

 

[mukeshkumar007]

Looks like there remains only one solution of checking any illegal activity and that is legalizing it.

if system or law fail to control/check any bad/illegal or an activity having criminal elements in it then almost everyone start advocating to legalize it. is it the only solution we are left with? is the inability of the machinery/system to check the spread of illegal activity should be covered with legalizing it?

 

[hemanthooda]

A taxmen recently said,"The betting on IPL games may be generating between Rs 25,000 crore and Rs 40,000 crore a year from India."With this much amount of black money circulating around and the involvement of criminals and underworld in gambling, there are risk that this money might go to terrorist and mafia. Legalizing the gambling can be a way to convert this black money into white and earn revenue through it. Many developed countries have legalized Gambling system.In UK, official data puts tax revenues from the gambling sector at £1.5 billion last year.In many countries the size of this sector was roughly equivalent to 1% of GDP in most member countries. Now, if we assume that gambling in India would be of a proportionate scale if it were legalized (that is, 1% of GDP), that would imply revenues of the order of Rs 62,000 crore. Legalizing can also bring back the money going in other countries through gambling.

What do you guys think, should India legalize gambling?

*If legalized it should be regulated also.

Yes , it should be legalized...Karne wale toh ab bhi karte hain ....Only thing is implementation/regulation should be good

- Substantial revenue for govt to spend on social sector n other areas
- Check n reduce current black economy/underworld.
- More Jobs
- May act as catalyst for hospitality n tourism sector
- Protection of consumer(read gambler) rights..

Of course it will have -ve effect on society, but +ves outweigh -ves!!!

 

[yudhvirmor]

Prostitution, Gambling & Liquor are legal in most of the world except some mid-east countries.

Liquor is legal to buy & sell. I think Govt. should be using same yardstick for other two..

 

[vijay]

I think gambling should be legalized.
It will surely generate huge amount of revenue and will reduce the area of black economy.

 

[kapdal]

Yes, they should. Even short-term punting on stocks is gambling. It is just given a more sophisticated name- investing or day trading. There are many other legal ways to gamble like risky business strategies or taking lots of bank loans 'gambling' on a higher future income. Risk takers will always gamble in one way or the other. Risk averse will not.

Indians feel strongly against gambling as they have always seen it as banned. So they tend to assume it as something evil without bothering to think the rights and wrongs of it. I think given the popular negative perception, it is not going to happen.

 

[singhvp]

Looks like there remains only one solution of checking any illegal activity and that is legalizing it.

if system or law fail to control/check any bad/illegal or an activity having criminal elements in it then almost everyone start advocating to legalize it. is it the only solution we are left with? is the inability of the machinery/system to check the spread of illegal activity should be covered with legalizing it?

Exactly. In a country where millions and millions of people are forced to lead a sub-human life, is this kind of pleasurable activity really worth? If government can afford to have a mechanism to prevent drug trafficking and smuggling, why not against gambling , the addiction of which ruins so many families everyday. Even if it is legalized, who will be the beneficiary? Do you think the revenue so generated will be spent by the government towards rural development!! Moreover, if revenue generation behind proposed legalization is the best argument, then what is wrong in nationalization and legalization of brothels. Let us not toy with the idea of turning India into Las Vegas. The evils like gambling must be dealt with heavy hand.

 

[singhvp]

Yes, they should. Even short-term punting on stocks is gambling. It is just given a more sophisticated name- investing or day trading. There are many other legal ways to gamble like risky business strategies or taking lots of bank loans 'gambling' on a higher future income. Risk takers will always gamble in one way or the other. Risk averse will not.

Indians feel strongly against gambling as they have always seen it as banned. So they tend to assume it as something evil without bothering to think the rights and wrongs of it. I think given the popular negative perception, it is not going to happen.

Kapil, don't you think the great recession, world markets are passing through is the byproduct of the gambling in the financial and stock markets as supported by you above.

 

[kapdal]

Exactly. In a country where millions and millions of people are forced to lead a sub-human life, is this kind of pleasurable activity really worth? If government can afford to have a mechanism to prevent drug trafficking and smuggling, why not against gambling , the addiction of which ruins so many families everyday. Even if it is legalized, who will be the beneficiary? Do you think the revenue so generated will be spent by the government towards rural development. Moreover, if revenue generation behind proposed legalization is the best argument, then what is wrong in nationalization and legalization of brothels. Let us not toy with the idea of turning India into Las Vegas. The evils like gambling must be dealt with heavy hand.

I won't get into so-called evils of gambling again.

But even if you assume it is bad, history shows us that the pragmatic way to control it is "legalise and regulate" model rather than "ban" model. As shown by India's (and other countries like US) experiments with prohibition; it only pushes the trade into black market. Where it goes on not only with equally strong vigour, but unregulated as well. Thus making it much more dangerous. So you have cases of spurious liquor that ends up killing people.

 

[hemanthooda]

Exactly. In a country where millions and millions of people are forced to lead a sub-human life, is this kind of pleasurable activity really unavoidable. If government can afford to have a mechanism to prevent drug trafficking and smuggling, why not against gambling , the addiction of which ruins so many families everyday. Even if it is legalized, who will be the beneficiary? Do you think the revenue so generated will be spent by the government towards rural development. If revenue generation behind proposed legalization is the best argument, then what is wrong in nationalization and legalization of brothels. Let us not toy with the idea of turning India into Las Vegas. The evils like gambling must be dealt with heavy hand.

VP Sir, I am in favour of giving legal status to brothels, give it status of industry...have revenues , give proper sanitation , health care facilities to sex workers...education for sex workers kids , this will help in improving their lives....So many countries economy thrive on sex tourism.

Don't people visit brothels today?Is there no human trafficking today??

Prostitution is one of the oldest profession of society, it has survived & is going to survive whether legalize it or not...

Of course it will have social repercussions, but everything has pros & cons...

On a lighter note i was just wondering whether govt will charge service tax or luxury tax if it is legalized..

We all pay taxes, is there any guarantee that taxpayers money is spent on rural upliftment??? NO , spending money from govt purse is govt's take how they want to spend it...we as taxpayers can only pay taxes & if we dont agree with govt policies then we have power of vote!!!!

Regards
Hemant Hooda

 

[kapdal]

Kapil, don't you think the great recession, world markets are passing through is the byproduct of the gambling in the financial and stock markets as supported by you above.

No, I don't think so...

As I said, if we take it to extreme levels, any sort of risk taking can be called gambling. Say you buy a buffalo for 40k. You calculate the margin as 10%. You take a loan from the bank at 5%, leaving ur net margin as 5%. This is as basic a business as one can get into. But you have gambled here on so many things- price of milk, price of fodder, interest rates, etc. If price of milk falls or price of fodder increases, your margin can go into negative, leaving you with nothing to pay the interest on the loan. The bank would seize the buffalo and you'd be bankrupt. This is simplistic, but point is there is a risk in every economic activity.

Of course, outright gambling is different from buying a value in the sense that there is nothing being created, just wealth transferred from one person to other. And it can get addictive. You surely don't want people gambling their houses on an India-Pakistan match. So the right way is legalization with a strong watch dog.

 

[singhvp]

VP Sir, I am in favour of giving legal status to brothels, give it status of industry...have revenues , give proper sanitation , health care facilities to sex workers...education for sex workers kids , this will help in improving their lives....So many countries economy thrive on sex tourism.

Don't people visit brothels today?Is there no human trafficking today??

Prostitution is one of the oldest profession of society, it has survived & is going to survive whether legalize it or not...

Of course it will have social repercussions, but everything has pros & cons...

On a lighter note i was just wondering whether govt will charge service tax or luxury tax if it is legalized..

We all pay taxes, is there any guarantee that taxpayers money is spent on rural upliftment??? NO , spending money from govt purse is govt's take how they want to spend it...we as taxpayers can only pay taxes & if we dont agree with govt policies then we have power of vote!!!!

Regards
Hemant Hooda

Hemant, legalization of these two 'age-old' professions (prostitution and gambling) would amount to disguised glorification which would provide a fertile ground for the growth of these cancerous maladies. Instead, society or for that matter, government must eradicate the causes of these maladies to check the spread further. Having said that, I also agree with you that the sex-workers who are forced into the age-old profession of prostitution, must have access to proper medical facilities, sanitation and legal aid by the time the causes of this malaise are destroyed. But to promote this profession as sex-tourism does not go well with our Indian social milieu and level of social consciousness.

 

[singhvp]

I won't get into so-called evils of gambling again.

But even if you assume it is bad, history shows us that the pragmatic way to control it is "legalise and regulate" model rather than "ban" model. As shown by India's (and other countries like US) experiments with prohibition; it only pushes the trade into black market. Where it goes on not only with equally strong vigour, but unregulated as well. Thus making it much more dangerous. So you have cases of spurious liquor that ends up killing people.

On the same analogy, should drug trafficking also be adopted by the government as state-owned business? Going by that argument, countries like Afghanistan must engage themselves in growing more and more poppy harvest as this can prove to be a very lucrative business for them.

 

[kapdal]

On the same analogy, should drug trafficking also be adopted by the government as state-owned business? Going by that argument, countries like Afghanistan must engage themselves in growing more and more poppy harvest as this can prove to be a very lucrative business for them.

I don't get the analogy. I never said govt. of India should open casinos and run them. Also, drug-trafficking is a different animal altogether. Drugs affect health and well being. There are no ifs and buts there, you are always going to be worse off with consistent long term use. When 2 people place a bet, one wins and the other loses. Money changes hand. The danger is when you do excessive gambling when you are losing, called as gambler's ruin. I am not denying that is an issue. But the gamblers gamble even now, legally so, on stocks, lotteries and races. And illegally so in other fields. The addicts are still getting ruined. They can't even seek help right now as they'd be in jail if they admit to gambling. The effects of legal gambling can be seen all over the world- do we think the situation is much better or worse in India?

 

[sjakhars]

Legalization of betting/gambling is a better idea than letting it go illegally. Alcohol is legalized, stock market is legalized which is a kind of gambling, "wayda bazar" is a legal thing in wholesale market of products/agri products.

There are differences between drug trafficking/drug usage and gambling.
1. Drug trafficking affects a person's health and finance both but gambling affects the finance only. A person has his money and if he wants to put it in betting, its his decision.
2. It is hard to stop gambling with new technology like mobile phones, internet, TV and internet banking. In drug trafficking, the substance has to be transferred physically so it is easy to catch it. Govt. can not tape each and every cellphone, can not put all internet on surveillance.

 

[singhvp]

No, I don't think so...

As I said, if we take it to extreme levels, any sort of risk taking can be called gambling. Say you buy a buffalo for 40k. You calculate the margin as 10%. You take a loan from the bank at 5%, leaving ur net margin as 5%. This is as basic a business as one can get into. But you have gambled here on so many things- price of milk, price of fodder, interest rates, etc. If price of milk falls or price of fodder increases, your margin can go into negative, leaving you with nothing to pay the interest on the loan. The bank would seize the buffalo and you'd be bankrupt. This is simplistic, but point is there is a risk in every economic activity.

Of course, outright gambling is different from buying a value in the sense that there is nothing being created, just wealth transferred from one person to other. And it can get addictive. You surely don't want people gambling their houses on an India-Pakistan match. So the right way is legalization with a strong watch dog.

The probability of risk in buying/selling a buffalo by raising a bank loan at lower/advantageous rate is not so fluid as in case of gambling wherein you stand a chance to loose the entire money gambled (borrowed from someone at higher rate). Further, the buffalo business is less addictive.

 

[kapdal]

The probability of risk in buying/selling a buffalo by raising a bank loan at lower/advantageous rate is not so fluid as in case of gambling wherein you stand a chance to loose the entire money gambled (borrowed from someone at higher rate). Further, the buffalo business is less addictive.

The risk has to be seen with returns. If risk is higher in gambling, your return (if you win) is also higher. The point about buffalo was just to show that risk is there in everything. And not to measure the risk. Still, there'd be a probability that you lose all your money invested in a buffallo. It could be very low- say 5% (If 100 people do it, only 5 lose all their money). But that ways, you can bet on very low risk bets as well. Like backing Spain to win an India-Spain football match. If probability of India winning is only 5%, you would only get around 5 paise on a rupee for backing Spain (And if the probability is right, then 95 out of 100 people putting that bet should end up winning 5 paise, while 5 people would end up losing the entire rupee).

I'd agree that buffalo business is less addictive. Also gambling with borrowed money should not be allowed.

 

[virj]

Gambling in not illegal in India. Its just highly restrictive. We cant say gambling is banned in India. I am not in favour of giving it a free ride as it can ruin many poor uneducated village families. Many of them would be involved in unresponcible gambling due to their state(condition){some are still}. Like Satta, the people who play satta in village lose hell lot of money. Its a well known fact that in general a player cannot earn from satta or such things except a few lucky ba@@@rd. Only people who earn are the people who run it. But it gives a false hope to desperate people and that uneducated/immatured lot stuck into it and get ruined. But yes internet gambling can be allowed and steps are being taken toward it as I feel they would comparatively play it little bit responcibly. Their can be more casino one in all big city. But still dont give it a free ride. You still can buy lotteries in India but imagine if Satta become legal. It certainly would ruin many families.

Now for prostitution, There is no specific law to regulate prostitution or ban it altogether. The current law punish prostitute(where there is money involved) and immoral trafficking etc etc. However Its also bit same as gambling. Govt has (sort of) legalised it in certain areas (red light areas of big cities). Now adds for escorts are commom in leading newspaper. Law says (unless they have changed recently) that mature people (over 18+ perhaps) can have sex in a private place. So people can call escorts in their hotel room for their services after that what happen between them after that is their own affair. The escort only charge for their company not for anything else.

The Govt cant in one day make these things legal. Let them happen slowly slowly in fact very slowly. Otherwise they would ruin many people/families.