Gambling and betting regulation can help achieve the $5 trillion economy and help society
PM Modi Says States Should Focus on Their Strengths to Boost the Nation’s Economy.
The Union Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that for India to achieve the target of becoming a $5 trillion economy, all states in the country must recognize their strengths, determine their goals and design a roadmap to achieve them.
The PM’s speech was delivered at the recently held national conference of Chief Secretaries which was presided by him and attended by young district collectors and magistrates from states and union territories together with officials from the central ministries.
“Urban areas will be key in future development and employment generation. Therefore, urban local bodies must be strengthened, and urban planning should be done innovatively,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi pointed out that the Centre and the states work well together as “Team India” and expressed his appreciation of the deliberations done during the extensive sessions of the conference which helped in devising a roadmap for the different sectors. Narendra Modi also said that the action points and fresh ideas from the discussions should be implemented with no delay.
In his speech, the Prime Minister stressed on “minimum government and maximum governance” and on the need to enhance the ease of living in the country. The decriminalization of minor offenses should be taken up as a mission, he said.
The other subjects covered by PM Modi include the use of drones by the service industry and farming, and the need to improve technology implementation by all government schemes and programs to ensure datasets interoperability between the Centre and the states.
The Prime Minister urged state governments to determine the vacancies in their departments and take care to fill them. “The states must try to integrate anganwadis with primary schools to achieve the goals of the National Education Policy, ” PM Modi said.
With No Gambling Regulation, India Fails to Channel Large Financial Flows to the Legitimate Economy
India has a large gambling and betting market, but due to the lack of regulation, the country is not channelling these financial flows to the legitimate part of its economy. Even the proceeds from any online casino in India are seeping out of the country because such websites are registered abroad and operate from foreign locations.
A 2021 comparative study by the Brussels-based European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) places India at the bottom of the 20 examined jurisdictions around the world in terms of their success in channelling gambling and betting turnovers to legitimate operators. The results are analyzed in a recent report on global gambling regulation practices by Esse N Videri Media (ENV Media).
India scores a total of 9 points along criteria including regulation, taxation, product quality, integrity and advertising, as well as zero percent on channelisation.
The EGBA makes the following conclusion: “Whilst betting is widespread across India it is mainly prohibited and therefore unlicensed and unregulated. Player protection and market oversight is therefore absent, as are fiscal returns. The unregulated market and related criminality will continue to flourish.”
The annual revenues from offline and online betting in India alone amount to staggering sums between ₹3 and ₹10 lakh crore ($40 to $150 billion) according to estimates by different organizations like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the Doha-based think tank International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS). The figures are quoted and analyzed in another ENV report discussing India’s sport betting market.
Thus, a move to regulate gambling and betting in the country can channel lakhs of crores of rupees away from the black market and offshore hands and into India’s taxable and legitimate economy, and make a sizable contribution towards achieving the $5 trillion dream.
The Social Point of View
The benefits that a comprehensive gambling and betting regulation can bring to India from a social point of view are perhaps even more important than the economic gains. As the ENV research on global gaming legislation shows, contemporary regulation of the sector around the world focuses on gamer protection.
Robust responsible gaming requirements and mechanisms are employed together with various rules and limitations concerning the operations of gambling and betting operators with the aim to lower the social costs by shielding users from the risks associated with gaming, including addictions, accumulating large debts and being victim to unfair play.
Thus, regulations produce a safe gaming environment, while in a market like India where “no regulation is present, unlicensed operators take the chance to offer unverified gaming services that open up possibilities of match-fixing, odds manipulation, and other cyber crimes like personal data phishing,” as the ENV analysts point out.
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