MUMBAI: A letter sent by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) to Prime Minister Narenda Modi accusing gambling websites based abroad of “luring and accepting bets from Indian citizens” without local authorization has had the desired impact.
UK-listed Paddy Power Betfair’s Betfair brand has stopped taking bets on Betfair in India as of Monday, January 28. Indian punters attempting to access Betfair now get a message that they reside in “a country that Betfair does not accept bets from”.
Ahead of the “betting block” Betfair sent an email early last month to its Indian customers asking them to withdraw all funds in their online accounts by January 28. The company said it would honor all pending sportsbook and matched Exchange bets placed before that date and any winnings could be collected via customer service. Betfair said it understood that this abrupt notice was “frustrating” and apologized for the inconvenience.
Coming back to AIGF’s missive to Modi, the letter had requested the Prime Minister to instruct the Enforcement Directorate to crack down on payment processing services that facilitated financial transactions between Indian punters and nine international online betting sites.
Shortly after Christmas, Congress party MP Dr Shashi Tharoor introduced a private member’s Bill in Parliament that would create a national regulatory and licensing scheme for online sports betting while empowering authorities to crack down on (a) operators lacking a local license and (b) criminals who facilitate match- and spot-fixing.
Thraroor characterized his Bill as “an attempt to expand our freedoms” in keeping with the Law Commission of India’s 2018 report that urged the central government to legalize wagering already. However, the government has shown little interest in expanding its citizens’ freedoms, fearful of blowback from social conservatives.
Highlights of AIGF’s letter to Modi:
– Many online gambling and betting websites operated by companies based outside India in tax havens are accepting bets from Indian citizens.
– As per Schedule 1 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transaction) Rules, 2000 prohibit remittance for lottery winnings, income from racing/riding or other hobbies etc., the extant rules and legal framework is openly being flouted by these offshore betting websites who accept payments from players in India through e-wallets and through hawala agents and illegal channels.
– These websites operating in India pose a national security threat as they are indulging in money-laundering and leading to outflow of money outside India through unaccounted and clandestine means.
– It is also useful to point out that the Information Technology Ministry and Computer Emergency Response Team can direct intermediary Internet Service Providers to block access to betting websites under Rule 3(2)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011, however, till date no action has been taken to block the websites blatantly soliciting bets in India.
– Regulating and licensing Sports betting within India to prevent such kind of outflow of money abroad through illegitimate channels, as recommended by the Law Commission of India in its 276th Report titled ‘Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including in Cricket in India’ should be explored by the Government.
