Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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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 versus Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.
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Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

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

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.
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For more than 3 years he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

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

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web sports betting, there is nothing comparable here.

And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to lure 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 companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.
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But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha was established to suggest changes in the functioning 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 actually been banned for 2 years after some players and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right direction.

"I do not mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge company opportunity for certified bookmakers and global 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 helping make deals involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a really reliable approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.
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But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting since (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Even though many individuals are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for numerous," 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 territory.

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has sparked around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.