Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi
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Mumbai Business press reporter

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

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

He has made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman gets prepared 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.
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And a couple of minutes later on his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.
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For more than three decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates flourish in the country.

'Black cash'

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

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

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

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

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports 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 gaming," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend modifications 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 emerged.

Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.
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The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a big service opportunity for licensed bookies and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a very efficient approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of 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 gamble lawfully.
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However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit path by going into 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 develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
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"Even however lots of people are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," states our .

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

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

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has fired up around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.