Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

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

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

And a couple of minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, 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 prohibited in India.

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

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting wagering market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets using 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 deals include so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with overseas companies.
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"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
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But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, 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 performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal came to light.

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

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.
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Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the .

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

It would also open a substantial business chance for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have an extremely efficient technique of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to sell.
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"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

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