WAGERING AGREEMENT

 

                                        WAGERING AGREEMENT

INTRODUCTION

The term agreement refers to a promise or duty assurance that establishes the basis for gatherings to an agreement. A wager is a contract in which money is paid from one party to another based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of an uncertain event. Now, if a and b agree that A will pay 1000 RS to B if it rains today, this agreement may be considered a wager since if it does not rain today, b will be required to pay 1000 RS. And both A and B have a probability of gaining or losing money. Wagering Agreements or Wagers are agreements between parties in which the primary party pays cash to the second party if a doubtful event occurs later, and the second party pays the principal party if the event does not occur. We will define the term wager as a gamble in common man language. Wagering contracts are usually null and void. It is a game of chance in which winning or losing is unpredictable, as well as an event in which both sides have a chance of winning or losing. There isn't a one-sided risk of loss or possibility of reward. The most important aspect of the wagering agreement is that neither party has any stake in the contract other than the amount that the individual is going to win or lose. Honorable judge J. Subba Rao acknowledged Sir William Anson's definition of wager as a promise to supply money or money's price upon the determination or ascertainment of an unsure event, brings out the concept of wager declared void by section 30 of the contract act, in the case of GherulalParakh v Mahadeodas. Different states have totally different provisions concerning Gambling. According to section 3 of the Odisha Prevention of Gambling Act 1955, anyone who participates in gambling or gaming is subject to a one-month prison sentence or a fine of up to Rs 100, or both.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WAGERING AGREEMENT

1) The consideration for the promise under a wagering agreement is to pay or get money.

2) The cash is payable on the happening or the non-happening of an Event.

3) The agreement depends on a future and unsure event.

4) The essence of gaming and wagering is that one party will win and the other party will lose.

5) In a wagering agreement, no party has control over the event.

6) Commercial transactions are valid, but to pay the price differences during the wagering agreement is void.

EXCEPTIONS OF WAGERING AGREEMENT

1) Shares-Agreements for the selling and purchase of any commodities or share market transaction in which there is a real intent to conduct legitimate business are not wagering agreements.

2) Contract of Insurance- A contract of insurance seeks to pay the insured for the loss incurred as a result of the occurrence of an unpredictable event. In the case of life insurance, the amount payable in the event of the insured's death is agreed upon and determined in advance.

CONCLUSION

Wagering agreements are expressly ruled void in India under Section 30 of the Contracts Act. As a result, it cannot be enforced in any court of law. Agreements made on the basis of a wager are void, and no action may be brought to recover anything allegedly gained on a wager or entrusted to someone to abide by the results of any game or other uncertain event on which a wager is established. Even if a wagering arrangement is unlawful and unenforceable, it is not illegal. The wagering arrangements, however, have been declared unlawful in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Because the wagering agreements are void but not illegal, they are not void in terms of collateral transactions. As a result, they are enforceable. For example, if a private lender lends money to a special person to help him pay off a gambling debt, the lender may be able to retrieve the money.

By,

Asha Sebastian.