The Act for Avoiding Wagers (Amendment) Act, 1865, was a colonial-era legislative measure enacted to regulate wagering agreements specifically within the State of Bombay. Its primary purpose was to declare all contracts related to wagers—whether made verbally, in writing, or through other means—as null and void. By stripping these agreements of legal enforceability, the Act prevented courts from entertaining lawsuits arising from such bets. For the ordinary citizen of that time, this meant that any financial loss incurred through gambling or speculative wagering could not be recovered through the judicial system, effectively discouraging such activities by denying them legal protection.
Official Legislative Text
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