Is Gambling Legal in India?

The legal status of gambling in India is completely unclear. Several law authorities and organisations are struggling to create the new legal situation in India, but no one has come to some standard legal status. Some believe that Indian people should be restricted from gambling because it divided the country, while others believe that it should be fully legal in India. Due to which, people usually get confused about gambling in India.

To help you get the most appropriate answer to this question, we have provided all the relevant information after doing detailed research. According to our research, we have found that gambling is legal in India. But, to be fully confident about our point, we got into an association with well-known legal experts of the country. The current legal status of gambling in India is still unclear. If you don’t know how and where you can place a bet legally in India, then you will get all the answers to your questions in this post.

Do Online Casinos Legally Operate In India?

Have you heard a lot about the thrill of playing roulette or slots on online casinos? Do you want to pamper yourself in popular casino games for some extra adventure? Wondering whether it would go in favour of laws in India or not? Don’t think much more. In this post, you will find the best legal advice from the reliable legal experts of the country.

Is It Legally Allowed To Gamble In India?

We had an interview with Mr. Manoj Mishra, a Senior Advocate in the Odisha State Bar Council. In this interaction, he had presented the most useful facts about the legalisation of gambling in India. Here is a short overview of the information given by Mr. Manoj Mishra.

According to the Public Gambling Act of 1867, gambling was initially banned in India during the colonial period. This law states that a person who is enjoying the public gambling facility and an individual or a company that is providing gambling services on a federal level would be considered to commit an illegal activity. However, this law did not mention any online gambling activity because it was formed many years before the advancement of the biggest technology of the internet, which has today becomes the boon for myriads of people.

On receiving this quote, people started believing that online gambling is legal in the country because it is not prohibited under the law of Public Gambling Act of 1867. And, it is true somewhat in some aspects. This is because if the Indian government literally ban online gambling in the country, then they could have made some additional amendments in this law and others to fully prohibit the activity of web-based betting or gambling. But, this would not actually happen. In fact, the government hand over this responsibility to each state of the country.

Now, it is upon the state government to decide whether or not to prohibit online gambling in their region. In Goa and Sikkim, online gambling or betting is officially legal, while it is fully banned in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Most of the Indian states such as Tamil Nadu not able to comes out with the straight legal status of online gambling. There are no laws for the legalisation of online gambling. Hence, it is still unclear to say that web-based gambling is completely prohibited in such states. All in all, it is not a prosecutable crime to place a bet online excluding the state of Maharashtra.

Our interview sessions with Mr. Manoj Mishra and other advocates made us believe that online gambling is not the biggest crime in India. There is no individual who has ever been found guilty for placing a bet online.

According to the Indian law, casino operators, betting sites, or gambling service providers may not run their business on Indian Territory unless they are legally allowed by the specific state of the country. So, only those sites are allowed to operate, which run by the companies located outside India. All people in India can try their luck for fun and real money at those betting sites or online casinos that are located in other countries and that nation would not prohibit online gambling.

Is Horse Racing And Cricket Betting Legal In India?

In 1996, the Supreme Court of India legalises horse race betting in the country because it is a skill-based game rather than a game of chance. This legalisation puts some people in confusion because they believe that the results of football and cricket matches can also be determined with proper gaming skills.

The main reason behind the legalisation of horse race betting in India is the fear of losing the most profitable and leading industry of horse breeding in India. Policymakers know that putting a ban over horse race betting in India would affect the growth of horse breeding in India. So, they legalise this type of gambling.

When Will Online Gambling Be Completely Allowed Legally In India?

The increasing engagement of Indian people in online gambling and its contribution to the country’s economic growth has made the government of India rethink about the legalisation of this form of gambling. If the government truly wants to declare it illegal, then it would make some extra changes in the laws to assure the full prohibition of online gambling. But, as we have already discussed above, this thing has never been done in reality. So, it is clear that online gambling is allowed legally in India and would enjoy the same legal status in the years to come.

The Indian government and individual state governments are having a debate over the topic ‘whether or not to fully legalise online gambling in India’. Majority of the people and government authorities believe that it would be the best move for the country’s economic growth. Instead of donating all the tax money by Indian citizens to a foreign government, it would be the best option for the Indian government to gather taxes on the biggest industry of online gambling. It would further help Indian citizens to feel completely safe and confident that betting they are made online is sanctioned and regulated by the Indian federal government.