Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying his bet.
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Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.

For more than three decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, illegal wagering grow in the nation.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's illegal sports betting wagering market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And offshore wagering business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation
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The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.
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Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the best instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial company opportunity for certified bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a very effective technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.
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However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to offer.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.