India should legalize sports betting and gambling to raise badly needed government revenue and reduce problem gambling behavior, according to a new legal report.

Over two years ago, the Law Commission of India (LCI) was tasked with examining the best way to deal with the country’s rampant gambling activity, nearly all of which remained underground and untaxed. India’s archaic gambling laws date back to 1867, when the country was still an English colony.

On Thursday, after much public and stakeholder input, the LCI released its report, Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India, which notes that India has fought a largely losing battle against illegal gambling operators. “Since it is not possible to prevent these activities completely, effectively regulating them remains the only viable option.”

The LCI believes that India’s constitution already empowers the national parliament to remedy the situation, and the LCI urges parliament to enact laws that would allow individual states the right to opt out of legal gambling within their respective borders.