Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 versus .

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

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

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.
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"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting distributes grow in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

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

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

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call 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 concept, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes 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 emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right instructions.

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

It would also open a huge organization opportunity for licensed bookies and global online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a very reliable method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

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

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.

"Even however lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for many," states 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 area.

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

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