Law Commission report on betting and gambling 'under consideration', says Ravi Shankar Prasad

For those who wish to try their luck at betting, might soon not have to bother about the legalities surrounding the gambling. In a recent statement tabled in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the 276th Law Commission report on betting and gambling is "under consideration of the government".

In its 145-page report titled Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting Including in Cricket in India, the commission said that it is a known fact that there is a black world of gambling in the country. It added that something urgently needs to be done to curb or end unlawful betting and gambling activities.

In a statement, Prasad said the Law Commission has recommended that gambling and betting, should be offered by licensed Indian operators from India that have valid licences granted by the game licensing authority. It stressed that for participants, there must be a cap on the number of transactions an individual can participate in, during a specific time frame.

The nature of stakes should be restricted to money and the PAN card and Aadhaar card of a player should to linked to the transactions. The betting amount should be prescribed by law along with an upper limit on the amount one can legally stake in a game.

Analysing the 140 page report, Jay Sayta, a corporate lawyer and founder of Glaws.in said, “While the report highlights both pros and cons of legalizing betting the tone of the report looks like it is in favour of the regulation.”

According to Sayta, if betting is legalised it could become a $100-130 billion industry in India.