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 requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares 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 few minutes later his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

For more than 3 decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful wagering distributes flourish in the country.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

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

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

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

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a substantial organization chance for certified bookies and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have an extremely reliable method of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie 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) people would not desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Despite the fact that many people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

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