Indian government to regulate online gambling

The government wants to enact a law that would regulate online betting and gambling.

India.- Home Minister of India, Ranjit Patil, said that the State government is set to enact a law to regulate online gambling. The Minister was discussing the subject in the Legislative Council on Monday, during a debate on an alleged betting racket run by a private company.

There are already laws that regulate betting and lottery in India, but the State still has no legal provisions for the online world. Patil discussed the issue while debating the alleged betting racket run by Game King India Private Limited, which is owned by Ramesh Chaurasia, arrested from Mumbai by the Indore Police. “We are awaiting a report by the Indian CERT (computer emergency response team). But we will meanwhile enact a law to regulate online betting,” he said.

The opposition believes that Chaurasia had installed more than 500 illegal gambling parlours in Mumbai. It is also believed that he had the support from the Mumbai Police. Leader of the Opposition, Dhananjay Munde, said: “What is stopping the Mumbai Police from shutting down this site? What is stopping them from arresting Mr. Chaurasia?”

“Seven cases have been registered against him by our police. Once the CERT report is in, we will shut this website and arrest him at the earliest,” Patil said. “The Indore Police took one-and-a-half year to arrest him, but we will not take that long.”