To Ban or To not Ban!

In the background of the recent IPL scam, I think certain things are part of our social culture, for good or bad. One of them is gambling. I think, Indians, by nature, get a kick out of gambling. Knowing this, our government banned this and Casinos are not allowed to operate in Indian territory. One of the reasons for Nepal's popularity for Indian tourists is to head out to the Casino there:-)

In our attempt to play the moral police and ban gambling, our countrymen have devised ingenious ways to beat the ban. Gambling or placing bets in cricket, any sport, elections etc. continues to flourish - all under cover, though. When we get wind of it, like in IPL now, all hell breaks loose, the self righteous indignations apart, the whole country is shocked and in this case, cricket affectionados are terribly upset.

I wonder if we do allow Casinos to run in our country, would it bring down scams? Since there will be an outlet for those with gambling instincts, I think its possible that such unsavoury elements may not exist. I think by curbing or banning Casinos, we have not reformed society in any way, rather, we have suppressed certain qualities that get expressed in some other way.

This is all hypothetical, one can argue and I agree with them. This will open up the discussion on other issues that are banned, for eg., indulging  / trading in narcotics. Will lifting the ban be a boon or bane to India? I am not so sure:-). Its a tough call for policy makers I guess...