Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting 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 requiring 17 go to win against Australia.

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

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

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

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

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

"I have 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.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates prosper 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 gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

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

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls 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, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the performance of India's cricket regulative 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 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate 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 best instructions.

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

It would likewise open a huge service opportunity for licensed bookies and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

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

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to put big bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to offer.

"Even however lots of people are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has actually fired up around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.