Gambling has been a part of our ethos since ancient times. During the Mahabharata period, there is reference to the Pandavas playing the game of dice with Kauravas.
Similarly during Diwali, Indians in many parts of our country indulge in some sort of ‘gambling’ activities, sometimes unaware that most of this is illegal. Currently, gambling through lottery tickets and horseracing are legal in India.
However, illegal betting in cricket and other sports like football and Formula 1 racing in India is where the big money lies and it is quite a huge, albeit clandestine, business here.
In the Indian society, there is widespread and deep-rooted belief that ‘gambling’ is ‘bad’ or ‘a social evil’. Negative perceptions about the gambling industry across the population in general, as well as in media and government, have restricted the growth potential of the industry.
It’s certainly true, to some extent, that uncontrolled gambling or ‘addiction’ of gambling is really a bad habit.
However, gambling per se is not bad. It depends on individuals and how one ‘gambles’.
According to the UK Gambling Act of 2005, betting or gambling means ‘the making or accepting of a bet on the outcome of a race, competition or other event or process; the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring; or whether anything is or is not.’
As per this definition, gambling is a ‘chance’ activity with a monetary value attached to it. Don’t we all, in our daily lives, get involved in some form of ‘chance’ activity, like when we say ‘today it will rain’, ‘tomorrow it might be sunny day’, ‘the train will be late by 30 minutes’, etc? The only exception, of course, is that we do not attach any monetary value to our ‘predictions’.
The gambling industry comes under the ‘leisure’ part of the travel and transportation industry’. It includes sports betting, lottery, Bingo, casino, poker, horseracing and other games that might end up making or losing money for those who play it. Stakes can also be placed on activities like a war, a movie, the elections, TV shows, celebrities, etc.
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