Former India Head Coach and 1983 World Cup winning team member Ravi Shastri recently talked about legalizing betting in India where he said that legalizing sports betting will help the authorities to keep track of revenue generated by it in official way.
Sports betting is illegal in India and the law commission of India have recommended in 2018 to legalize the regulated betting and gambling activities in sports.
The report which was titled as ‘Legal Framework” around cricket stated that “ Incapability to enforce a complete ban has resulted in a 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 them remains the only viable option”.
Ravi Shastri who is known for his outspoken approach was asked about his take of legalizing the betting sports in India to which he said that betting sport should be legalized in India as other countries are benefitted from it and tax-wise it would generate tremendous income for the government.
He added that more we try to put restrictions on it there will be more ways to channelize the betting from alternate channels so it would be a better choice to earn from betting in a legalized manner.
“I think it will generate tremendous revenue for the government. Tax-wise, it’s the way of the world at the moment. The more you try to shut it down, the more it will be in your face through alternate channels. I think it’s extremely important that it should be legalized in a proper way and it’s a good platform for things to be done officially and properly,” Shastri stated.
Shastri also lauded BCCI for being one of the most professional sports board for taking Indian cricket to new heights where he thanked all those politician who served as an administrator in cricket board and their policies which has helped India cricket to grow immensely in all these years.
However, It would be intriguing to see whether sports betting becomes legal in India or not only time will tell.
