It is disappointing that Justice Mudgal has advocated the legalisation of cricket betting (“Cricket’s dark side not a shock,” March 28). The prevalence of a socially undesirable activity, notwithstanding its revenue-yielding potential, cannot be a justification for decriminalising it. Horse racing has a limited following, while cricket is a national passion. The moral hazards of legalising betting in cricket will be felt across multiple spheres of our life.
Should bookies be allowed a free run to directly and indirectly influence the outcome of sporting contests? Will not cricket players come under tremendous pressure to ‘deliver their market worth’? If betting is allowed in cricket, why not permit it in parliamentary elections also, where the government can earn thousands of crores as licence fees? Should we allow the moral fabric of society to be torn apart by the greed of the underworld?
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
