Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

"I believe India is winning, make the change," 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 sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

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

'Black money'

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 cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters put 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 individual run scorer.

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

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

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

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

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

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

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a big company opportunity for licensed bookmakers and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a really efficient method of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of likewise 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 lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering because (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to position huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Even though lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

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

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

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