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Sports betting regulation seems to be afoot in India, we are just not sure yet what it means for the real progress of potential iGaming regulation in that tech as well as poverty-heavy global region.
How Far Along?
Quoting a ministry official, the India Express news service claimed discussion was underway within the country’s sports ministry regarding legalization and regulation of sports betting, with sports minister Vijay Goel countering that no actual proposal has submitted.
Current Pressures to Regulate
With a projected value of current illegal sports betting climbing into the hundreds of billions, India is in many ways under the gun from would-be operators to their own constituents and justice department to regulate as soon as possible.
Positive Progress
Encouraging is the fact that India’s Sports Ministry has at least begun to lay the groundwork for a legislation model for legalised online sports betting, though it could take up to two years before an actual draft is ready to be submitted.
Outside Help
Hopes for a more rapid draft seem to lie with expert outside assistance, specifically in the form of intellectual capital support from UK government, which presides over probably the most effective sports betting model in the largest market in the world.
New Memorandum
To this end, Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas is in England preparing to sign what is called a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with online sports betting the leading point on the Memorandum agenda.
Massive Illegal Market
Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security has put the illegal betting market in India value at $150 billion, with the current illegal action provided through local bookmakers and unregulated offshore websites. The only legal betting in India at the moment is horse-racing, which is taxes at a rate of 28%.
Constructive Programming
The Sports Ministry recently identified the top benefit that legal sports betting could provide as addressing the issue of poor funding for sports at the central and state levels.
The UK model was cited by the presenting official, who pointed out how “The UK has overcome this (poor funding) through lottery and online betting.”
Outlook
While the country still has to overcome ethical concerns as well as structural inconsistencies, consultation of expertise could bring the process of sports betting legislation along much faster than the Indian government is used to.
Forecast
The UK precedent model seems fit to pave the way to passing imparting the benefits of social reinvestment to the India government according to a sports betting system which if effectively executed could transform India into a true emerging economy.
