Japman Singh, Delhi High Court
Gambling on sports is a practice which has existed in the country for decades, be it people resorting to bookies to bet on the major sporting events taking place in the country, or a couple of friends making a friendly bet for a small amount on the next IPL game; irrespective, the practice plays a significant role in the entertainment culture of India.
In the past few years, the betting industry has received a significant boost with the introduction of online platforms which facilitate an easy, sit at home opportunity for enthusiasts to engage in the practice. However, there is still a certain degree of ambiguity or lack of clarity when it comes to the governance as well as the legality surrounding these laws.
Current laws related to betting in India -
Majority of the nation is subject to the Public Gambling Act of 1867. This Act has been derived from the Gaming Act of the United Kingdom which came about in 1845 and outrightly prohibits any games that involve the use of cards , dice, tables or other instruments when they are used with the purpose of earning a sum of money. It prohibits the practice of running gaming houses and also bans the practice of public gambling. However due to the date of its inception, there is no particular provision that specifically deals with the concept of online betting or outrightly prohibits it.1 This Act is a nationwide statute however the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India explicitly allows the States to make their own policies and laws related to gambling, thus the option of adopting the provisions of the Act or not, lies with the States. For eg. The Sikkim Government in 2009 issued a memorandum known as Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation ) Rules, 2009 which laid down the rules and regulations to be followed for online gaming licensing.
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