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 requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.

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

He has made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.
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For more than 3 decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

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

'Black cash'

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 gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

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

The majority of these transactions involve "black money", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, 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 functioning of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would also open a huge service opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a very effective technique of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.
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But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to put huge bets will never bet legally.

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.