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 located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is watching the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.

He has made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, but now 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 bookie on the phone.

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

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, unlawful betting syndicates flourish in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

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

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

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

And overseas wagering companies are using this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gaming," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a big business opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals included in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really reliable technique of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting because (some) people would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money 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 however lots of individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has fired up around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.