Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right hand.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, 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 change," he informs his bookie on the phone.

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

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

For more than 3 decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.
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Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes grow in the country.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with overseas companies.

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's proposed the concept, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation'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 wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket gambler.
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It would also open a huge business chance for certified bookmakers and global online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a very efficient approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting since (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.
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He includes that people who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even though lots of individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually ignited around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.