"When you regulate betting and the government controls it, you have better control and supervision over match-fixing," Bindra said on Thursday. "Have everything above the surface, that's better."

India, which is the financial powerhouse of the sport, has been at the centre of several match-fixing and illegal gambling scandals after several prominent players were named in an Indian federal police investigation into match-fixing in 2000.

In 2007, West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels faced an investigation from his national board over alleged links with a bookmaker during a one-day tour of India.

Bindra's statement came a week before the multi-million dollar Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL) begins on April 18.

The IPL will feature a majority of the game's leading players but made global news in February when an unprecedented $40 million auction of players by the eight franchises took place.