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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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bet9ja.com
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 situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying 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 believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes to life, 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 wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

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

Most of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big business opportunity for certified bookies and global online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have an extremely reliable technique of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering because (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted money to position big bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Although lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial concern for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has actually ignited around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.