Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has been asked by the country’s All India Gamin Federation to clamp down on online gambling. The AIGF wants the premier to block payments between Indian gamblers and internationally licensed gambling sites.
Several big names that currently work in the Indian online gambling market were listed as companies that are operating illegally in India, including Betfair.com and Bet365.com. Nine specific companies were singled out for “luring and accepting bet from Indian citizen”, with the usual scaremongering language of how these same citizens are put at risk of gambling addiction and so forth.
Some of the other offences charged by the AIGF include violating the Foreign Exchange Manage Act and the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act. In fact, the federation got a little carried away its letter saying that offshore online gambling sites pose “a national security threat as these transactions lead to outflow of money outside India through unaccounted and clandestine means.”
The AIGF urges PM Modi to conduct a comprehensive investigation into online gambling and take action against the online gambling sites that operate in India without a local license. In recent years, Indian players have shown a huge interest in online games, especially online poker, slots and rummy.
It should be noted that the AIGF clarified that it is not opposed to gambling per se; it only wants to put an end to internationally-licensed gambling sites from attracting Indian gamblers with promotions and bonuses.