'Cricket Betting can be Legalized in India,' Feels BCCI Official!

India should consider legalizing sports betting and introducing legislation to deal with match-fixing, said Ajit Singh Shekhawat, Head of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"Maybe there could be a thinking about legalising gambling so that all this illegal business which goes on can be controlled. Legal betting will be done under some parameters and it can be controlled," Shekhawat was quoted as saying by PTI.

Speaking about the match-fixing cases emerging from state premier leagues, Shekhawat said a match-fixing law against the practice will give police a clear cut role in curbing it.

On a related note, the Law Commission had last year stressed the need to make match-fixing a criminal offence, like it is in England and Australia.

Shekhawat was the Director-General of Polie in Rajasthan before taking over as the Head of BBCI's Anti-Corruption Unit in 2018.