Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 requiring 17 runs to win against .

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

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
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"I have made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.

For more than 3 years he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

The majority of these deals include so-called "black money", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with overseas firms.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.
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The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest 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 gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right direction.

"I don't mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket bettor.
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It would also open a substantial organization chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have an extremely efficient technique of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Even though lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
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"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.