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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi
bet9ja.com
Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.

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

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

For more than 3 years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting distributes prosper in the nation.

'Black cash'

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 gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gambling, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which dominate the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM was established to suggest modifications in the performance of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some gamers and group officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a big service chance for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

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

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

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

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to offer.

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

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.

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

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually ignited around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.