NEW DELHI: In the wake of the latest controversies related to the spot fixing case in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and revelations of the underworld?s role in sports betting; FICCI has once again reinitiated its call for regulating sports betting in India.

Despite several attempts to ban it, betting is continuing in an underground fashion and substantial resources have been invested into enforcing such a ban. Thus, the middle way out is to regulate it in a way which reduces this to an acceptable level. Hence, the Government should think of legalising and regulating betting.

India is continuing to lose billions of dollars in taxable revenue (an estimated Rs 12,000 to 20,000 crore annually) through black marketing operations in sports betting. According to FICCI, the greatest advantage of regulating sports betting is going to be the accountability for the large amounts of money transferred through illegal channels and reduction in cases of match fixing, money laundering and crimes.

If gaming and betting is regulated in India, it will benefit the exchequer and could potentially fund sports development, social protection or welfare schemes and infrastructure development plans.

In a representation submitted to government, FICCI has highlighted how blanket ban on sports betting has failed without proper regulation. In fact, this representation also highlighted the number of international examples of different countries who have benefitted from regulating the betting, added FICCI sources.

A system which seeks simply to prohibit rather than control gambling is turning its back on the problem. Ban cannot be implemented but sports betting can be controlled with proper regulation to prevent further deterioration of conduct of sports in country. When regulation arrives, it is true that problems are revealed, actions need to be taken and policies are enforced. FICCI realises the negative aspect of sports betting on the society.

The question now is how to tax the money involved in gambling and we need to devise a system which encourages betting operators to function openly. We also need to devise systems for protection for the young and vulnerable against the dangers of unwise betting behavior but these can be addressed only if we spot the victim and which is possible only through proper regulation. Active regulation is the only real solution - whether the underlying philosophy is to permit or restrict.