The Public Gambling Act of 1867

Gambling in India

The definition of “gambling” differs from state to state. Gambling can be defined as betting, gaming, or participating in an activity which is a game of luck and not the game of skill to win a big amount of money or any other prize by laundering some amount of money.

Public Gambling Act of 1867

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a central law that prohibits running or being in charge of a public gambling house. The penalty for breaking this law is a fine of Rs.200 or imprisonment of up to 3 months. Additionally, this Act prohibits visiting gambling houses. This legislation was initially implemented in ten states under British rule but was further followed by every state in India.

Gambling under the Gambling Legislations, however, does typically not include: 

• Wagering or betting upon a horse-race/dog-race, when such wagering or betting takes place in certain circumstances, 
• Games of “mere skill” and 
• Lotteries. 

According to general opinion, gambling leads to various crimes like corruption, betting of things other than money, money laundering, etc. If we talk about legal gambling, it is one of the major sources for revenue for the respective state. In India, the major states that have legalized online gambling in casinos are Goa, Daman, and Sikkim.

Online Gambling

When the Public Gambling Act of 1867 was introduced, there was no question of online gambling. With passing years, online gambling is in trend. It is not legalised in most of the states but in Sikkim, the state policymakers have given the power to public authorities under Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act, 2008 to give online gambling licenses to such persons or agencies.

Legal or not, this trend of money laundering and gambling has been going on for long. The Public Gambling Act 1867 has created legislation on gambling for the whole nation but that isn’t the end of it. Several acts were implemented in the later years to reform the gambling legislation but still, illegal gambling cannot be restricted totally.