British to push India on sports betting on sidelines of Games.
British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson is using this month's Commonwealth Games, being held in New Delhi, to push India to legalize sports betting.
Hugh Robertson wrote a letter to his Indian counterpart M S Gill last month requesting that sports betting be put on the agenda for a summit of Commonwealth sports ministers to be held during the Games.
The ministers met on the sidelines of the Games on Monday, the day after the Delhi 2010 XIX Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
According to news reports, they unanimously agreed during the meeting that all national sports federations should adopt international good governance principles to ensure transparency and accountability.
The push by Robertson and the British government came after news broke of a betting scandal in cricket that led to that sport's international governing body suspending three members of the Pakistani team.
The British government believes such scandals can be prevented by the legalization of sports betting in large markets such as India, where illegal bookmaking is said to be worth more than 250 million pounds a year.
Some 71 nations are competing in 260 events at this year's Commonwealth Games. This is the 19th time the Games are being held but only the second time they have been held in Asia, following Malaysia in 1998.
Blackjack
Slots
Roulette
Baccarat
Craps
Poker
