Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

5 February 2016

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right hand.
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He has actually made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.

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 think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes true, 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 banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet sports betting, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with overseas firms.
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"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 gamers and team officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax profits for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial business opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.
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And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have a very reliable method of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.
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But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to .

However, there are limitations.

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

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to put big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
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"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their area.

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually sparked around a topic - which till now was considered a taboo.