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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 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated 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 mobile phone glued to his right hand.

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than three years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

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 place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

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

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

And overseas wagering companies are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have with offshore companies.
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"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a huge organization opportunity for certified bookmakers and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have an extremely reliable technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who use unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval question
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For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to offer.

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

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.