UK Trying to Legalize Sports Betting
Thursday, October 21st, 2010The question of whether or not to legalize sports betting is on the minds of legislators everywhere. Now it is India that is seeing the debates come to life. In fact, British Minister of Sports Hugh Robertson is committing to start advertising at the Commonwealth Games being held in New Delhi. He is requesting also that the issue be put on the agenda for an upcoming Commonwealth sports meeting that is also going to be held during the games. According to speculation so far the board of ministers agreed one-hundred percent that the country should begin allowing national sports federations into the country. Part of the holdup has been former problems with gambling and sports betting. Recently a cricket scandal was the most telling sign of how rules need to be changed in the market. The cricket scandal resulted in the suspension of three members of the team from Pakistan. This and scandals of the similar nature are what are pushing most legislators to want to legalize sports wagering. They believe that if there are positive regulations to follow, people will be more willing to work within those confines, rather than making up their own.
If Minister Robertson is allowed to start advertising sports betting and its legalization at the games, then this is going to be a huge promotional event for the country. Scheduled to be represented at the games are a huge number of countries—seventy-one to be exact. They are competing in over 250 events and the games are going to last long enough to give anyone a huge promotional opportunity. The Minister does not want to pass up the chance to start pushing for legalization, and also understands the benefits of bringing sports betting into the state. It could mean millions of tax revenue dollars for countries involved and that would be a surefire way to turn around depressed markets. There are few other options that currently offer the same dollar amount to legislators anywhere. If countries are swayed, this could be the perfect backdrop for sports betting and then full gambling to be brought to the communities involved. It may take some time, but gamblers are going to push the market to legalization and counties want to be ready to take advantage of it when it happens

