Jay Sayta is a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) graduate from W.B. National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata. He runs http://glaws.in India’s first and only website monitoring gambling, betting and lottery laws. Jay has researched and written extensively on gambling and betting laws for various online & offline publications and academic journals like The Statesman, Scroll, The Wire, Swarajya, Asia Gaming Brief, he currently serves as advisor to SPiCE 2019.

Yudi: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the gambling sector in India in terms of legislation and regulation at the moment? 

Jay: The problem is that there is hardly any regulation on gambling or betting at the moment. Gambling/betting being a state subject, the prerogative is with the state governments on how they chose to legislate on the issue.

Recently, the Law Commission of India has come out with its report which states that while banning gambling and betting might be desirable, in practical terms it may be prudent to consider a strict regulatory framework at the central level. It remains to be seen whether the government acts upon the recommendations of the Law Commission.