Despite being frowned upon from a moral and religious perspective, laws have failed to desist people from indulging in gambling on sports in India. In such a situation, do you think legalising gambling is a viable option to control gambling? Discuss in the light of recent Law commission report recommendations. (200 words)
Refer – Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 7 years
KEY POINTS
Arguments in favour
· Gambling has been prevalent in Indian society since ancient times and has been accepted as a form of recreation on various social occasions.
· Gambling is already happening in a massive way. Law enforcement authorities are not able to stop it.
· A complete ban may in fact increase underground illegal betting and gambling activities, which may prove to be counterproductive.
· Gambling is said to be controlled by underworld syndicates who use the unaccounted money for nefarious activities like terror financing.
· Legalising the activity will not only help curtail an important source of black money, but also bring massive revenue to the state exchequer.
· By taking this in to account, Law commission had recommended legalising gambling and advised to link the transactions with Aadhaar and PAN card.
· So that, it would help the government to follow and regulate them and the tax revenue generated through it should be used for public welfare measures.
· In addition to revenue generation, a legal and regulated gambling sector will also help in creating large-scale employment opportunities.
· As regards the concerns about gambling leading to addiction and bankruptcy, it must be noted that even though gambling is largely illegal, it is still rampant and unchecked.
· To cope with such challenges, Law commission restricts the no. of transactions by each individual on a monthly, half-yearly and annual basis.
· It also classified gambling as proper and small for rich and low income groups respectively.
· Regulations should also be made to protect vulnerable groups like BPL families and minors.
Arguments against
· It is not morally correct in the Indian context.
· In India, since the Mahabharata, the practice of gambling has been criticised.
· It is like arguing that we are not able to control road accidents due to drunken driving, so we should consider legalising drunken driving and impose large fines to generate revenue.
· There can be no guarantee that legalising regulated betting will stop players from being a part of betting rackets.
· As of now, most betting is restricted with black money holders, if we legalise gambling, it will open the gates to all and the poorest segment would become the ready fodder.
· The attempt to segregate proper from small gambling is well-intentioned and would protect the economically weaker sections, but disbarring from participation all players who get subsidies or do not pay taxes may violate the principle of equality of access.
· Restricting a part of population would keep the business underground, defeating the purpose of the reform.
Shankaranand 7 years
Please Review
Thank You
IAS Parliament 7 years
Good effort. Include more points in support of your answer. Keep writing.
Raghuram 7 years
Please review
IAS Parliament 7 years
A well-structured answer. Keep writing.
Vyankatesh 7 years
