Bede Chairman, Joe Saumarez Smith, talks to SBC News ahead of Betting on Football about legalising sports betting in India.
With India on the brink of legalising sports betting, and a number of other countries around the world also mulling the idea, this year’s Betting on Football will be hosting a track focused upon the Global Markets that are considering liberalisation as well as looking at those that have legalised recently.
One of the panel discussions on the track that will take place is ‘India – On the cusp of regulation?’ where some of the expert speakers will be discussing the challenges that India may face, and the changing attitudes of legislators.
Among the panellists is Joe Saumerez Smith, Chairman at Bede Gaming, who spoke to SBC about how he believes that the liberalisation of the Indian market will largely be driven by Cricket, but the growing football and tennis markets may play a role in engaging with newer audiences.
SBC: Are attitudes changing in India with regards to sports betting legalisation?
Joe Saumarez Smith: Among the more enlightened politicians and sports administrators in India there is tacit acceptance that legalising and taxing sports betting is the only way forward. There is such a huge level of illegal sports betting within India and as we are seeing in Sri Lanka, match fixing and spot fixing is far more likely to happen in a market where gambling is not regulated.
However there aren’t many votes to be had in licensing sports betting and that is where the problem lies…
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