You might have already heard about how Thiruvananthan MP Shashi Tharoor recently spoke in support of legalizing marijuana in “land of bhang”.
The news spread like wildfire for obvious reasons, because how could a country like India, which is so religious and morally upright, take such a “dishonourable” step?
And now once again, India’s sanskaars are under the scanner, because, *drum rolls* Law Commission wants the government to legalize betting.
YES, YOU HEARD IT RIGHT. We can finally see betting become legal in India. Too good to be true, right?
India, where you see everyone from the Pandavas in Hindu mythology to college teens in shady gallis and rich brokers sitting in high-rise apartments gambling away their money, this legalization move was seriously needed.
Why Law Commission Is In Favour Of Legalization?
On 5th July, The Law Commission of India, recommended that gambling and sports betting should be allowed as a regulated activity under the direct and indirect tax regimes.
Regulating these activities would aim straight at the menace of black money circulation and would also help in curbing the huge role underworld plays over the illegal and unregulated gambling industry.
The underground betting market is as huge as a whopping Rs. 300,000 crores and all of this is not under the purview of government which leads to a huge loss of revenue in the form of taxes.
When betting is taxed with excise like, Income Tax and the GST, it would help solve two purposes.
Firstly it would discourage lower income groups like college students, unemployed people, labourers from participating in playful yet indulgent betting.
Secondly, it would help generate extra revenue for the government, which could be used for the welfare of the citizens as seen in developed countries like USA and China who have legalized betting.
Legalization could also attract foreign investments as it could lead to a huge network of casinos and online betting industries like Bet365, Betfair operating in India.
Tourism and Hospitality industry will experience a boom, job opportunities will grow up and the list goes on.
Also Read: Racial Discrimination On Indian Campuses Exists, Let Us Show You
What The People Had To Say
So far, the move has generated a positive response from the people.
Harsha Bhogle, a renowned cricket analyst was also in the favour of this move.
The Law Commission panel headed by Justice BS Chauhan prepared the report which reads, “In the light of the fact that the existing black-market operations relating to these activities are a major source of influx of black money in the economy, regulation rather than complete prohibition the logical step to be taken.”
Of course, the move attracted political attention too, and received a lot of flak from the opposition when Congress spokesperson, Manish Tewari said,
“If you legalize betting in sports, you will not only destroy the sport but will also turn every paan shop in this country into a ‘juye ka adda’..”
Every big, confident move like this has its own share of pros and cons but we can only hope that with changing times, India also pushes forward for a better, positive change which will only be possible if this legalization move is implemented and regulated properly.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: NDTV, FirstPost, Indian Express
You’d Also Like To Read:
http://edtimes.in/2018/07/why-is-the-centre-blaming-whatsapp-for-fake-rumours-and-not-bjp-it-cell/
