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 against Australia.

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

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets prepared to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

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

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

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

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

'Black money'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put 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 greatest private run scorer.

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

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

And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right instructions.

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

It would likewise open a big organization chance for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering companies, you will have an extremely efficient approach of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

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

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

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by a main panel for the first time, at least an argument has fired up around a topic - which until now was considered a taboo.