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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 press 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 guy is viewing the video game, nervously. He's on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.
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Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

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

'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 money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters put 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 highest individual run scorer.

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

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

And offshore sports betting business 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 companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear 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 marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

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

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a big company opportunity for licensed bookmakers and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a very effective technique of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting since (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

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 concept to sell.

"Despite the fact that many people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

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

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

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