While I was contemplating what to write in this week's editorial, James Packer was publicly announcing his plans to invest $400 million for a casino resort in Sri Lanka. In a speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Colombo, he said that his casinos would act as ‘‘a leading tourist mecca for the rising middle class of India, China and the rest of Asia.’’ Without a doubt, Packer has got his figures worked out pretty well. Despite a domestic ban on gambling, Indians do illegally indulge in various forms of gambling and betting every year. Some reports suggest that the size of the domestic gambling and betting 'industry' could be beyond $60 billion a year; and this is not counting the amount Indians spend abroad in casinos and betting centres. However, most of these instances are not in public view and are virtually impossible to track. Here is where the government needs to make smart plans to exploit the benefits of both the worlds. Going by the way India wishes to incre...
Dr. Arindam Chaudhuri
(An IIPM Think Tank Blog)