India’s Supreme Court (SC) has ordered sweeping reforms inside the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), opening the door for the possibility of a legalized sports betting in the country.

On Monday, the SC accepted major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms including a bar on ministers and civil servants and those above 70 from becoming its members.

But the highlight of SC Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla judgment was it adapted the recommendation of the committee – headed by retired Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha – to make sports betting legal through an enacted legislation, according to Lawyer Vidushpat Singhania, a sports law expert and a partner at Krida Law.

“The Supreme Court yesterday has directed the Indian legislature at the central level to consider legalization of sports betting within the country,” Singhania, which provided a softcopy of the judgment to CalvinAyre.com, said in an e-mail.