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 requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his ideal hand.

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

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

"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.
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And a couple of minutes later his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than 3 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 in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes thrive in the country.

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet 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 money not stated to the taxman.
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The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
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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 grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 League wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.
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Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

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

It would likewise open a big company chance for certified bookies and international online wagering business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have a really effective technique of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to put big bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for many," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.
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"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has ignited around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.