Underground Betting Thrives in Pakistan, But You Can Bet Legally on Horse Racing
Pakistan is the sixth largest country in terms of population with a growing number of people using ICTs, this makes it potentially an interesting market for online bookies. Nevertheless, Pakistan being an Islamic state where majority are devout followers of the religion, gambling is often frowned upon.
Pakistan is an independent country, which became autonomous in 1947 after having been a part of British India. The government announced that it would govern the state on Islamic tenets as soon as it took over. In 1956 Pakistan was declared an Islamic republic and many legislations and acts were put forth based on the teachings of Koran since then. This did not bode well for gamblers because gambling is regarded as a sin under Islamic law.
Gambling is generally illegal in Pakistan even before it became as we know it today under the Public Gambling Act of 1867.[1] For example during the following century, this was done by different acts and laws that were implemented in various areas however all of them were replaced through introduction of Prevention of Gambling Act of 1977, which cancelled out all other laws and applied to Pakistan as a whole. This recent legislation was straightforward about equating any form of gambling or betting with a criminal activity. [2]
After the Prevention of Gambling Act of 1977 was put into effect in 1979 and very soon afterwards, General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq, then the military ruler, made an amazing move by allowing tote betting on Horse Racing. The decision appeared eccentric considering that reportedly it was meant to gain favor with many politicians who had formerly been supporters of the regime of the General and who also happened to have racehorses.
It was in the early 1990s when bookmakers dealing with cricket bets in Lahore, Pakistan began to increase and where they worked alongside their counterparts based in Mumbai, India who were responsible for setting odds.[3] They say that where there is betting, corruption follows closely behind and it was not long before it slipped into pakistani cricket. In 1994 Australian cricketers alleged that Salim Malik, Pakistan’s captain had tried to bribe them so as to adjust a match. But this just touched off the beginning of the problem.
In spite of the illegality of cricket betting, the advent of the internet and subsequent explosion of online betting companies worldwide opened cricket matches up to manipulation and infiltration by betting syndicates. In 2010, a number of players from Pakistan’s national team had charges pressed against them when they were accused of receiving money from bookmakers to manipulate their international test match against England. This scandal shows how much wagering has become part of the Pakistani way of life even if it happened in the UK and the bets were placed outside Pakistan.[4]
Due to current corruption and an extremely fragile political and religious situation, future reforms or amendments of the law seem highly unlikely. However, this does not prevent hundreds of illegal betting houses and stalls from earning millions of dollars in Lahore and Karachi where they are found in abundance.
What about the online sphere? The government out rightly prohibits all types of betting (with the exception of horse racing) and although it does not mention online gambling specifically, actions involving bets in the internet are governed by the general provisions of the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977.
Is it true that the biggest overseas bookmakers respect the laws and follow the orders given by Pakistan’s ruling regime, which forbids them from taking any clients from this country? Well, in brief, no. Most of the leading betting firms are ready to take customers from Pakistan and some even make efforts to attract citizens of this state.