Gambling has been part and parcel of India’s culture for a long time now. Whether it’s wagering on online betting or playing card games to appease the goddess of wealth or playing casino games, gambling isn’t a new trend in India – it has existed since time immemorial. The citizens enjoy the big odds on cricket and can’t just help but stake to try their luck.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s cricket, a game of skill or game of chance, online poker, or football stakes, Indians have made gambling part and parcel of their lives and it seems like they won’t stop it any time soon – the irony is that betting is mostly unregulated in India.
In other words, there are no steadfast laws or a comprehensive framework to guide Indian’s online gambling industry at the moment. Most of the gambling is underground, even though the authorities don’t know about it.
While this is massive for Indian punters adding something to their kitties, it’s a concern for the Indian government who hasn’t started imposing taxes in the gambling industry. And this is why this question – how can imposing tax help India improve their revenues?
There’s Incredible Tax Potential
According to a report by the KPMG on sports betting in India, the sports betting industry in India was worth $130 billion and could rise even more. In other reports, it is said that India’s turnover from gambling was about 7.5 percent of the country’s GDP.
So what could this mean for India if the government decided to get serious on taxation? For example, a 30 percent tax on all betting winnings could result in lakhs of ten million rupees that the government could use to better the country.
Additionally, making gambling legal and taxing the gambling industry means that you’ll be taking people from what’s perceived as illegal and now letting them indulge in it freely while also protecting and respecting their interests. What’s more, doing this would curb bad practices, such as money laundering, black money, and reduce illegal activities in sports.
The best of all is that legalizing this will increase sporting events viewership, increasing its overall revenue. It will bring a ripple effect that will benefit many interested parties like the broadcasters, viewers, etc.
What Next?
Sadly, there are still no taxation laws to regulate India’s gambling, making it a flat 31.2 percent, inclusive of cess. Without a proper legal framework to regulate gambling in India, the Indish government can never realize the gambling potential. Maybe, India should emulate what countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, etc., where gambling taxation helps improve their GDP.
Developing an improved legal framework to guide online gambling has brought massive gains to different governments regarding tax revenues. India is probably halfway through this process, courtesy of KYC stringent measures.
