Whether it is legal to gamble, both offline and online is subject to each state’s legislation. Currently, only a handful of states allow gambling in different forms, including Goa, Daman, and Sikkim. In these states, it is possible to visit land-based casinos and place bets online. Sikkim even has permits to accept online bets from players all over India and is the only state to have formally legalized online casinos. Then there are less progressive states that have flat out banned all forms of gambling, that includes Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The latest to join the progressive states is the northeastern state of Meghalaya, which is making a bid to become a gambling destination in the future, both for online gambling and traditional gambling outlets.
The intention is to legalize gambling in an effort to attract more tourists and in turn create more job opportunities and tax revenues for the state of Meghalaya. Since 2019, Meghalaya has been running with a deficit (-227.557 INR mn in 2022) and legalizing gambling would improve the economy of the state.
Speaking about legalised gambling, State Law and Taxation Minister James P.K. Sangma stated “We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licences to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline.” He also added, importantly, that “But the legalised gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya.”
The state of Meghalaya started last year, February 2021, when the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act from 1970 was nullified – effectively making gambling and online gambling legal. What’s left now is formalizing the legal framework under which gambling operators can provide services. Meghalaya has been singled out as being the most gambling-friendly in India making it likely that the state will create a legal framework for all types of gambling. This framework would cover both offline and online – likely becoming the second state after Sikkim to formally legalize online casinos. The difference between Sikkim and Meghalaya would be that the latter only allows visitors and tourists to gamble. The gambling activities could cover seven different games: lottery, horse racing, sports betting, poker, rummy, casino, and fantasy sports. In addition to Mr Sangma’s statement, he mentioned that the government had not signed any agreement for opening new casinos in the state.
