Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookie on the phone.

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

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

For more than 3 years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Aside from 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 prohibited sports betting market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is money not stated 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 internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed 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 suggest modifications 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and group officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that might 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 money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big service chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a very effective technique of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, 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 illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not wish to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

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

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