Will the sports ministry's plan to legalise betting cleanse sports?

As the scope of the IPL spot-fixing controversy widens and continues to grow murkier, there are reports that the Union sports ministry is planning to legalise betting in sports. However, this elicits mixed reactions from the sporting fraternity, with some confident that it will rein in unethical practices across different sports while others debate that it will almost certainly have a flip side to it.
Raj Kundra, co-owner Rajasthan Royals
Unsure whether legalising betting will indeed put an end to spot or match fixing, Raj Kundra, whose team players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila are embroiled in the controversy, said, "I don't think that legalising betting in sports will control spot fixing issues, but yes, it will control money laundering." According to Raj, a legal betting system will regulate the way people gamble."It will bring transparency and above all, keep the revenue in India," he added.
Chirag Tanna, head operations, Pune Football Club
Betting takes place across all sports, and not legalising it is only stopping the government from earning revenue, feels Chirag. "I think the move can only be positive. While I haven't come across any such cases in football, it is really sad what's happening in the IPL. The ministry's move will help curb such practices. Take horse racing for example. Legalising betting will at least better the chance of ensuring that people involved don't abuse the system. It boils down to the authorities being strict about it," Chirag said.
Nikhil Kanetkar, badminton player
In the 2012 Olympics, cases of match fixing in badminton emerged. In fact, illegal betting and match-fixing are now viewed as new threats in the Big Games. Olympian Nikhil Kanetkar, who also has a badminton academy in the city, feels that legalising betting will encourage gambling and eventually lead to match-fixing. He said, "Players across all sports are susceptible to the temptation of fixing a match. In badminton, if a player is playing a match that is of no use to him, in the sense that it will not help him qualify for the Olympics or is a small tournament, then he might give in to throwing away a match to earn some money."
Rohini Lokhande, tennis coach & former international tennis player
Rohini expresses her shock and anguish at the complete degradation of sportsmanship that the spot-fixing issue has led to. "Maybe legalising betting will help a bit. Everyone has a betting instinct and if it's legal, there will be a valid outlet, but I am worried about the flip side to this. It will cleanse sports a bit but what if a bigger devil is created?" In tennis, she said, betting probably exists on a small scale. "The temptation is there and those who feed the temptation are also there. But the larger solution is for sportsmen to realise that if they think they are bigger than the game, they will only fall," she added.