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 requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.
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In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.
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He has made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, today 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 informs his bookmaker on the phone.
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And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes to life, 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 years he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.
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Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting distributes prosper 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 place bets utilizing 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.

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

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

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

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

But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.

legalisation

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

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

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.
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The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the ideal direction.

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

It would likewise open a substantial organization chance for certified bookmakers and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.
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And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have an extremely effective approach of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

"Even however lots of individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable issue for many," says our unnamed punter.

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

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

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