The safest thing for India to do about gambling is to legalize and regulate it. That’s the message from Minister of State for Finance and former president of the Board of Crick Control Anurag Thakur, speaking at an ICICI Securities event on November 19.

From his point of view, the way to get match fixing in cricket under control is to allow legal wagering on the sport. That will allow for “monitoring people allegedly involved in fixing,” he said, and stop “unholy and corrupt” practices, as well as generate new tax revenue.

Nilesh Shah, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, agreed wholeheartedly. “If we look at the problem of match-fixing, then the trends in betting can give us leads on whether something unholy is happening or not. Betting can become a potent tool to stop fixing,” Shah said.

“My suggestion will be to legalise betting and gambling activities, which are underground. They continue to exist in our society,” he added.