Yashwant Deshmukh Calls For Legalisation of Betting to Boost Government Coffers
Prominent journalist and commentator Yashwant Deshmukh has called on the Indian government to legalise betting in a bid to counter shortfalls in government revenue caused by the coronavirus shutdown.
In a tweet to more than 180,000 of his followers, Deshmukh proposed four suggestions:
Now that Booze is saving the Govts from Revenues Blues, let me offer four more suggestions:
— Yashwant Deshmukh
1. Start IPL in empty stadiums
2. Make betting legal
3. Put 28% VAT on betting
4. Start home delivery of Booze
That might cover up whatever shortfall that Corona induced.
I am serious.
The country should be enjoying the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, but the lucrative tournament remains postponed indefinitely. Many Indian states have begun permitting liquor deliveries.
Not all his followers agreed, with one arguing his ideas were "disgusting". On the other hand, many were in favour of regulated gambling, seemingly aware that many Indians do gamble online with offshore sites who have no obligation to pay any tax to the state.
Deshmukh is not the first public figure to call for betting in India to be made legal. Back in 2013, former cricketer Rahul Dravid and Ranjit Sinha Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), asked the government to consider legalising sports betting to prevent corruption in sport and bring revenues by way of taxation.
And in 2017, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court seeking its directions to the central government to legalise and regulate sports betting in the country,
The COVID-19 nationwide shutdown is expected to have eroded state revenues by thousands of crore and legalising betting would bring instant tax rewards. However, opposition remains strong at state level and with many sections of society.
