Cricketing legend Shane Warne has never been one to mince words, and the part-time poker player has a question for the Indian government when it comes to legalized gambling — what’s the hold up?
The Australian was speaking to the Times of India in an exclusive interview. When asked about the legal status of gambling in the country of 1.3 billion people, Warne was as blunt as he was bewildered.
“The government of India is clearly missing the trick here,” Warne told the Times. “They should have legalized gambling a long time back.”
Gambling isn’t strictly illegal in India. Much like in the US, it’s regulated on a state-by-state basis. Currently, 13 states have their own lottery, while just two – Goa and Sikkim – have started to allow some forms of gaming, including online poker. However, even in those two states, there is plenty of grey area which is open to legal interpretation.
But Warne, who has $137,258 in live tournament poker earnings with a best-ever cash of $35,899 in the 2018 Aussie Millions, insists that Indian officials need to get with the times.
“If someone wants to gamble, then it doesn’t matter whether you legalize it or not; they’ll still do it,” he insists. “So (they) might as well benefit from it.”
The Poker Privilege
There is one big exception to the Public Gaming Act in India. It states that “nothing in this Act shall apply to games of mere skill,” which opens the door for poker.
While it is all still very much a hazy area, there’s no question that the poker scene, especially online, is growing in India.
Last year saw one of the country’s longest-running poker and gaming sites, Delta Corp, attract high-stakes legend Patrik Antonius for a 10th anniversary promo event.
Meanwhile, some sites have started to bring on female ambassadors as a way of growing their brands.
And the live scene is growing, too. After a successful World Poker Tour stop at the Deltin Royale Casino in Goa in 2017, the WPT came back to India for a second event in November of 2018.
India’s Biggest Tournament in the Cards
This week brought the perhaps the surest sign yet that the market is growing, as online operator PokerBaazi announced the launch of what is expected to be the biggest online poker tournament ever held in India.
It’s called the GameChanger Tournament, and it features three starting flights. The buy in for the event is 11,000 Rupees ($155), and the winner is guaranteed to take home 5,000,000 Rupees ($70,586).
The event kicks off on February 20 and runs over the following four days.
