The Chhattisgarh government, led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, has decided to take stern measures to tackle the social evils of online gambling and betting in the state. Bhupesh Baghel has taken matters into his own hands and has instructed Director General of Police Ashok Juneja to curb the ill activities of online gambling and betting.

The Chhattisgarh government has been actively taking measures to prevent illegal gambling and betting, but with the participants taking online platforms to evade the authorities, new reforms need to be introduced to nab the offenders. The introduction of new legal provisions and procedures will assist the officials in taking swift action against illegal activities.

An official commented on the decision and revealed the thought process behind the CM’s decision.

“Keeping this in view, the CM has directed DGP Juneja to prepare a draft of necessary legal provisions and procedures so that a stringent law could be enacted to prevent online gambling and betting,” the official said.

It is worth noting that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had sacked the previous DGP DM Awasthi after the latter failed to prevent social crimes like gambling and betting in the state of Chhattisgarh. Baghel promoted the junior IPS officer Juneja to the role of a replacement for Awasthi.

According to several trusted sources within the Chattisgarh Police, the gambling cum betting racket accumulates business worth more than a staggering 400 crore per annum on average and has numerous links to offshore clients.

The legality of online gambling and betting has been a long-standing issue, with no mention of the subject in the Public Gaming Act of 1867, which regulates gambling activities in the country. Goa, Sikkim, and Daman are the only three states which accommodate the practice of gambling in India.

With each state provided the liberty to form their own laws regarding gambling and betting, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu moved to ban the practice in their respective states. But the ban was short-lived, as the Madras High court struck down the Amendment, sighting it as unconstitutional.