Illegal sports betting is a huge area of concern in India. In the pretext of sport betting, there is menace of sport fixing. These issues have also raised questions on the credibility of many other sports as well.
There has been debate going on in India to legalise sports betting. Game of Skill is allowed but sports of chance are prohibited even by the Supreme Court of India. The world over there are various countries in which earnings from sports betting and sports lotteries are utilised not only to support sports development but also conducting mega Sports events.
It is believed that illegal sports betting business in India is more than 10 lakh crore per year. This mind-boggling figure is a headache for the concerned agencies and various government organisations. For the last many years the government of India has taken various steps to control illegal betting and fixing but despite all the actions, illegal Sports Betting has been increasing. It has also been proved that there seems to be a close relationship between illegal betting and match fixing.
Therefore, instead of banning it, it should be regulated through an independent regulatory Commission. CSRI proposes to curb fixing through enactment of harsh laws.
Similarly, it is also necessary that knowledge around legalized betting, its taxation system and addressing the issues of betting and lottery addiction are some of the areas that need to be addressed.