prasad1
Active member
Despite socially conservative India's ambivalence about gambling, consultancy firm KPMG estimated that $60 billion was wagered in the country in 2010. Much of the gambling is illegal, but attitudes are slowly changing as more Asian countries embrace gaming as a revenue generator and tourist draw.
Legal gambling in the increasingly wealthy country of 1.2 billion is limited to state lotteries, horse races and a handful of casinos. Most gambling in India, from penny-stake games at street corners and card parties in affluent homes to wagers on cricket and underground numbers games, is illicit and goes untaxed.
"People are playing on the roadside everywhere. People are playing in their houses," said Budhwani, 33, a luggage retailer from Hyderabad who had brought his family to Goa, a tourist destination and one of two Indian states with casinos.
"People are educated, they know what's at stake."
Gambling on cricket, India's most popular sport, draws hundreds of millions of dollars.
The country was transfixed last month by a scandal in which several players were accused of taking bribes from bookies, spurring calls for legalising and regulating sports betting from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a powerful business lobby, and others.
Legislation proposed after the cricket scandal is aimed at making cheating in sports a crime although it does not address regulating or legalising betting.
"It looks like the government has at least become amenable to this discussion, which is important," said Vidushpat Singhania, a lawyer who helped draft the match-fixing legislation and favours legalising gambling.
Despite the allure of India for global operators, Indian law forbids foreign direct investment in casinos, meaning companies like Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) can only tap the market by targeting Indians going overseas.
Many wealthy Indian families hold wedding parties in Macau, the world's largest gaming destination, bringing affluent guests for the festivities and the gambling.
In recent years, major awards ceremonies for the massive Bollywood film industry have been staged in Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, Malaysia's Genting Highlands, Macau and South Africa's Sun City, all gambling venues.
