Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets ready to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.
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"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish 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 of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black money'

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

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

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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 absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with overseas firms.
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"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which control the market.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.
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Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the ideal instructions.
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"I do not mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge company chance for and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have a very 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 bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
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"Even though many individuals are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually sparked around a subject - which up until now was considered a taboo.