Gambling in India May Change

Gambling is basically illegal or restricted in India. There is, however, widespread illegal gambling and wagering occurring throughout the country. Currently there are only two India states — Goa and Sikkim — that currently allow legal casino gambling. Sikkim has one casino while there are a total of 12 in Goa. Interestingly, 5 of these casinos in Goa are floating casinos located on the Mandovi River.

Other types of legal gambling in India include lotteries and wagering on horse racing. Currently online gambling and betting are in infancy stages with only a few licenses available.

Recently, an India court in New Delhi stated that it thought that betting on sports, such as cricket, should be legalized. The court said that law enforcement is not currently curbing illegal gambling. It also said that with the legalization of gambling the Indian government would be able to use gambling revenues to help the public.

The court said that the media reported that about $427 million (U.S currency) had been passed through the illegal betting systems. The court also pointed out that during sports events that perhaps as many as 3,000 illegal bookies were taking wagers, and that because of such high numbers it is improbable that the police have no knowledge of these activities. It was very critical of the police for ignoring these activities.

Reports out of India state that the Indian police force feel that the fight against illegal gambling is a losing battle due to the inadequate Indian laws currently on the books. There appears to be a move toward legalizing gambling to expand outside of the 2 states that now have casinos and other types of gambling. It may well be that the government will be doing sportsbook reviews and other investigations about legalizing gambling within the country.