What is the common link between a gambler and a politician? A gambler never lies, and a politician never admits the truth. Instead of discussing the political landscape in India, chase the rapid growth of the Indian economy due to the emergence of the gambling industry. What is the current portfolio of the gambling industry? It is rising by confronting every obstacle and will have a boom fortune in the upcoming years. With a drastic upscale in its revenue, it has also boosted the income of the Indian government through online and offline gambling. What a surprise, India is now one of the dominating countries, and it is due to its robust financial strength. Are you ready to see your little contribution to uplifting your nation's economy?
After two years of steady lockdown, gamblers visited the brick-and-mortar casino to get the real ambiance and fun of gambling. This influx of tourists is responsible for the uprising in India's economy as they tend to invest money in five-star accommodation, food, transport, and other hospitality services offered by the land-based casinos in India. Phenomenal growth has been observed in land-based casinos in India. On that assumption, the Indian economy trusted this sector driving as a major force behind the country's economy.
Stride ahead and measure the rise in the gross revenue of land-based casinos in the following segment: In the 2012 FY, Goa casinos proudly paid a total tax of INR 135 crore, including the direct tax and other revenues. Every year Goa casinos pay a lucrative tax to the state government and are expected to increase with days. Is your heart yelling to leap into the casinos of India, go ahead. Do not stop your heart from indulging in the offerings of reputable casinos. In addition, Goa casinos accumulated additional revenues from the tourists who come with the sole purpose of visiting the land casinos of India. It provides about 25% of the State's GDP.
What is the orthodox source of income of the Indian government? It is, unsurprisingly, the gambling industry. It is the driving force behind the establishment of the Indian economy. Gamblers have adapted to virtual gambling activity in the two years of the pandemic. Online casinos have metamorphosed into a dominant industry. A positive impact has enrolled on the domestic and international economy. It is one of the conventional sources of entertainment for people across the globe. A smartphone device, good connectivity, and a good amount of money will take you to the gambling world that always disperses fun.
For instance, Goa casinos have significantly shifted their gambling offerings. Currently, many land-based casinos have changed to online versions, which raised INR 22,500 crores of revenue, as estimated by Deloitte India 2021. According to market reports, the Indian gambling industry has shown desperate growth from $2.8 billion in 2022, a compound annual growth rate estimated by CARG as 30%. This results from the changing interests of gamers who previously dominated the land-based gambling industry.
What does the term budget mean to you? Gamblers express the budget as a stubborn diet, except you must pay even for all the casinos. For a mediocre Indian, the budget is all about squeezing the entire income in the name of tax to upscale the nation's economic condition. The Indian gamblers also have the same conception of budget. You can see one example on this note: in the 2023 Budget, the financial minister of India expressed a 30% tax charged on all the winnings from gambling. Isn't it too much money charged to a novice gambler? Potential gamblers can escape from this charge sheet as they are high rollers and get good payouts from gambling.
In addition, the Union Budget has imposed a 30% indirect tax on casino wins from cryptocurrencies. The recent budget proposed introducing section 115 BBJ to tax winnings earned from online casino games for that assessment year. The current tax law is best as it will urge a 15% tax on your total income of INR 8,00,000 that year. It is quite a sober amount relating to the old tax structure. What is your winning amount, and which tax slab you will fall? Give the charge to the experts and release yourself from this pressure. However, the taxing procedure and laws are understandable to the common man; hence, you must hire a tax consultant.
The inclined GST tax regime imposed on real money casino games in India has led to a tax burden on most gambling companies. Now casino companies have to bear on approachable 50-400% of the tax to the government. It is badly impacting the growth trajectory of this sector. Gamblers love to gamble, becoming a curse to their financial strength. In addition, online poker and other fantasy games have become so expensive due to the tax amendments in online casino platforms where the games of skill tend to be cheaper than the other casino games.
The inclined move in taxation is a continuous thought of gamblers on their approach toward gambling. A pessimistic feeling has rounded their mind, pinching every time to step back from their gambling habit. This type of imposition in taxation is playing with gamblers' sentiments. Still, in days, gamblers would be accustomed to this new imposition of taxing on online gambling and its winnings. They will succumb to the government domination of every sector simultaneously. This tax implementation would ban the usage of illegal income from illegal gambling activities held in various unlicensed and unauthorized casinos in India.
Ana D.
•May 30, 2024
Lotteries and other forms of gambling have a colourful history in India. While lotteries are regulated under a central umbrella, how they are managed is subject to the discretion of state governments. However, the growing popularity of lotteries saw the Lotteries (Regulation) Act of 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules 2010 introduced, which established detailed standards for the governments to follow.
Currently, lottery games are legal in 13 Indian states, though anyone of legal gambling age in India can buy international lottery tickets online. The ticket prices and prize pools of government lotteries in India vary depending on the lottery scheme and state in which it is regulated. Tickets for weekly draws begin at modest prices like ₹2 or ₹5 and increase for bumper draws and special schemes.
Akil Khan
•March 21, 2024
Whether you like it or not, luck plays a crucial role in gambling. And while many would argue that it’s an unreliable force, for many Indians, the ancient tradition of Vedic astrology offers a way to understand how luck works in the universe and how one could potentially manipulate it to work in one’s favour.
Vedic astrology (known as Jyotish in Sanskrit) is the practice of studying planetary positions, celestial influences, and karmic patterns to understand how these influence and shape human lives and destinies.
When it comes to gambling, some Indians look to Vedic astrology to boost their chances of success. By analysing astrological charts and horoscopes, and identifying cosmic connections, gamblers seek to find the most advantageous time to gamble, looking for lucky combinations of numbers, or even charms and rituals to help improve their chances.
Let’s look at this more closely:
"Muhurtha", an essential principle of Vedic astrology, indicates the opportune time to partake in certain activities based on planetary configurations. It also highlights when best to avoid certain activities. So, in the case of gambling, a player would wait for a favourable Muhurtha to maximise their chances of success.
Vedic astrology focuses on nine “grahas”, which are collectively referred to as the “navagrahas” (nava meaning nine). They include the sun (Surya), moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangala), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Brihaspati), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), Rahu (north node of the moon), and Ketu (south node of the moon). According to Vedic astrology, the planet Venus offers luxury and Jupiter provides immense wealth. A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus unafflicted with the moon is therefore said to bring good luck and prosperity.
Many Indians strongly believe in analysing their birth chart in every aspect of their life. This comes from Vedic astrology, which argues that the alignment of different celestial bodies at your birth can provide invaluable insights. In the case of betting, it could highlight a person’s gambling and risk-taking tendencies and subsequent strategies they could employ to maximise their chances of winning, translating into profits and success.
Hindus love to rely on their favourite numbers, particularly when it comes to gambling, and generally prefer odd numbers over even. Seven and eight are considered auspicious numbers, representing success and prosperity. Many Hindus also use these numbers at the time of Diwali when, in some houses, gambling is a ritual. Another lucky sequence of numbers in Hinduism is 786, representing the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Akil Khan
•March 21, 2024
In casinos, we often hear phrases like good luck and good fortune. Not surprising, really, given how the majority of casino games are based primarily on chance, though some would claim that success is also down to mathematics and algorithms.
In any case, luck plays a crucial role in gambling, and many gamblers will have their own rituals they perform before games or even lucky charms they carry to improve their chances of winning.
Hinduism, one of the oldest practising religions in the world, believes in positive and negative energy, which could define your moves and outcomes. Furthermore, there are several ways one can channel these energies, whether through prayer or certain objects such as charms or symbols. We shall discuss these in more detail below.