A consultancy firm in India estimates that, in 2010 alone, Indian gamblers spent around $60 billion placing bets on a wide range of games. Most forms of gambling are illegal in India, but the Indian government is slowly realizing that legalized and regulated gambling can definitely generate revenue for development activities.
Currently, only horse betting, casino gaming, and lottery games are legal in India. However, several Indian gambling activities, such as card parties held by affluent Indians, sports satta, and others, are illegal, unregulated, and untaxed.
In India, cricket is so popular that it generates illegal satta activities worth millions of dollars. Recent match fixing scandals have spurred organizations such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry to convince the government about the need to legalize Indian cricket satta.
Lawyer Vidushpat Singhania said that the government has finally begun realize the importance of legalizing Indian cricket satta, adding that laws have been proposed to criminalize sports cheating although it doesn’t directly address the issue of legalizing satta.
Since existing satta laws in India prevent direct foreign investment in casino gaming, major gambling giants such as Wynn and Las Vegas can only target wealthy Indian gamblers overseas. This is possible because wealthy Indians conduct wedding parties in places such as Macau, one of the major gambling hotspots in the world.
Bollywood is also holding its award ceremonies in gambling destinations such as Sun City in South Africa, Genting Highlands in Malaysia, and others. Besides, many Indians consider it lucky to gamble during the Diwali season, and it is estimated that Indians lose millions of rupees playing games such as Three Card Poker in October and November.
India requires proper satta laws as most of its laws are vague, contradictory, and outdated; besides, nobody can say for sure if online gambling is legal or not in India.
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