INSIGHT
INDIA :
LAW COMMISSION NOTE SOWS FURTHER CONFUSION
The apparent backtracking of India ’ s Law Commission on gambling legislation has done little to deter those with an eye on the huge market , says Joanne Christie
WHEN INDIA ’ S LAW COMMISSION issued what was widely interpreted as a recommendation that betting and gambling be legalised in the country on 5 July , the country ’ s press went into overdrive .
Shares in India ’ s only listed casino operator , Delta Corp , rose and foreign operators the world over began salivating at the prospect of another enormous market opening up in the near future .
Rather confusingly , however , the Commission put out a press release the following day clarifying it had not , in fact , recommended legalisation or regulation but rather a complete ban on gambling .
It reiterated a portion of the conclusion of its lengthy 145-page report , specifically : “ The Commission reaches the inescapable conclusion that legalising betting and gambling is not desirable in India in the present scenario .
“ Therefore , the State authorities must ensure enforcement of a complete ban on unlawful betting and gambling .
“ However , incapability to enforce a complete ban has resulted in rampant increase in illegal gambling , resulting in a boom in black-money generation and circulation .
“ Since it is not possible to prevent these activities completely , effectively regulating
“ The Commission ’ s clarification did little to deter the industry ’ s enthusiasm , with many speculating it was simply seeking to emphasise that this was a decision for politicians to make ” them remains the only viable option .”
But the clarification note did little to deter the industry ’ s enthusiasm . Many speculate that the media had gone overboard , the commission had therefore taken a lot of heat politically on both sides and was simply seeking to emphasise that it was a decision for politicians to make .
Enthusiasm abounds Vaibhav Gaggar , managing partner at New Delhi-based law firm Gaggar and Partners , was unperturbed by the Commission ’ s apparent backtracking . “ Despite the press note that came out the next day , there is a huge amount of expectation and excitement .
“ We expected a positive report coming out but this has actually gone way further . Earlier they were looking only at betting , as it was the sports-betting markets they were mandated to look into .
“ But they ’ ve spoken about legalisation and regulating other forms of gambling , and they ’ ve made certain serious observations on why it needs to be regulated and legalised .
“ Plus they have gone ahead and given recommendations in terms of what the structure should be like , so I think it is a huge step forward .”
Roland Landers is CEO at the All India Gaming Federation ( AIGF ), which represents a range of local and foreign companies . He says its members also view the report as a “ good positive first step in the right direction ”.
It seems PokerStars – the only licensed foreign poker site in India , with its Indian site operated by Sachiko Gaming Pvt Ltd – didn ’ t interpret the report as recommending a ban , either . When asked for comment ,
48 iGB Affiliate Issue 70 AUG / SEP 2018