The former director general of police in the Indian state of Rajasthan, now a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), says the legalization and regulation of betting would go a long way toward curbing corruption and match-fixing in India’s most popular sport.
Ajit Singh Shekhawat told the PTI news agency that 12 cricket players have reported being approached to throw matches in the last year, and the Tamil Nadu Premier League has been investigated for suspect activity.
“Legal betting will be done under some parameters and it can be controlled,” he told PTI. “It will also bring a huge amount of revenue for the government, close to what the excise department generates.”
Last year, the Law Commission of India also called also came out in support of a legal betting industry and said match-fixing should be made a crime, as it is in England and Australia. It also said bets should be linked directly to identity cards in order to reduce the risk of money laundering.
“I am not saying betting should be legalized but it should be considered,” Shekhawat said. “When legalized, it can be regulated, as of now it is completely illegal. Once legalized, you will also get statistics on who is betting and how much is betting.”
The Times of India reports that in 2018, Bollywood star Preity Zinta, who co-owns the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team Kings XI Punjab, said legalizing betting could help the government curb corruption.
