Why not make gambling legal, with regulations?

Rahul Singh

Most of us Indians, especially the educated middle class, lead double lives. We preach one thing, but practice just the opposite. We are basically humbugs, or to put it more crudely, hypocrites. I was reminded of this when reading about the Goa government’s latest stand on casinos. If you have seen the James Bond films, you will know that casinos are establishments where gambling takes place: roulette, blackjack and slot machines being the most popular. You can win a fortune but also go bankrupt.

Goa is one of the few states in India —Sikkim is another one — that allows casinos and gambling. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition is in power in Goa. It has repeatedly said over the years that it will close down these casinos. In fact, the late Manohar Parrikar, probably the longest-serving BJP Chief Minister in Goa, and perhaps the best CM the state has ever had, once called them ‘dens of vice’ and ‘a social evil’, vowing to close them down when he was in the Opposition. However, once in power, it was a different story. The casinos thrived. The same hypocritical story is being repeated under another CM, also of the BJP, Pramod Sawant.

‘From February 1, we are stopping all the original Goans from entering casinos,’ he declared a day earlier. ‘They will be banned.’

‘Original Goans’ — who on earth are they? We are now at the end of March, but no signs of a ban on ‘original Goans’ entering casinos. In any case, why should Goans, original or not, be banned and non-Goans allowed to gamble? Are Goans so weak-willed that they’ll go wild and lose heavily while non-Goans are much stronger mentally? That amounts to running down your own people, virtually saying they are in some ways inferior to others when it comes to behaviour while gambling (incidentally, Nepal too bans its own people from casinos).

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against casinos or gambling, only against double standards. Gambling is enshrined in Hindu mythology. Shiva and his consort, Parvati, gambled, using dice (she usually won). There are ancient sculptures in Ellora and elsewhere testifying to this, as well as passages in the Hindu scriptures. Parvati even said that those who gambled on the night of Diwali would prosper while those who did not would become donkeys. Which is why gambling is common, at least in North India, during Diwali, though it is illegal. Thousands of crores, much of it black money, is spent by millions, playing ‘teen patti’, what is also called ‘flush’, a game of pure chance and bravado. Indeed, gambling during Diwali is widely considered auspicious as it emulates the cosmic interplay between a Hindu god and goddess. Still, it is illegal!

Actually, the law on gambling in India goes back to the Victorian era and was enacted in 1867 (it was called ‘The Public Gaming Act of 1867’), a time when the British wreathed themselves in puritan superiority. They imposed this puritanical ethos on their colonies as well. Incredibly, that Act still applies in India, even though the British have moved on and it no longer holds good in the UK itself. Presently, gambling is legal in the UK for anybody above 18 years of age. What’s more, there is no tax in the UK on winnings in Bingo, lotteries, horse-racing, casinos, etc.

Despite the 1867 Act, fortunately there are no specific gambling laws in India and every state can do what it likes. Which is why horse-racing, with betting, is permitted in Maharashtra, casinos have come up in Goa and Sikkim, and several states have legalised lotteries. In 1996, the Supreme Court tried to clarify matters but the issue got even more complicated. In effect, it ruled that ‘a competition that substantially depends on skill is not gaming’. Rummy and horse-racing are considered as being ‘skilled’, whereas lotteries, ‘teen patti’ and roulette are not. But what about poker and bridge? Many would consider them as demanding more ‘skill’ than ‘teen patti’.

There are other grey areas that have not been properly addressed, the biggest one perhaps being online gambling. There are online casinos catering especially to Indians. Online poker is also big business, with millions of dollars at stake.

A word on Islam’s view of gambling. Basically, Islam forbids gambling. The Koran categorises ‘games of chance’ as a ‘grave sin’ and an ‘abomination of Satan’s handiwork’. But here, too, there is a great deal of hypocrisy. The Dubai World Cup, which I have been to, is one of the most talked and written about horse races in the world, with $10 million as prize money. Many more millions of dollars are actually bet on the race, even though there is no betting at the venue itself. It is all done behind closed doors in the Emirate, and overseas.

The Indian Law Commission in May 2017 invited public opinion, asking if gambling should be legalised. One has not heard if there was any response. Of course, gambling should be made legit, with regulations, needless to say. The British have moved on since 1867, with legal betting shops all over the country. We should too.

— The writer is a veteran Journalist

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