Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016
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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter
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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 main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He’s resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.
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He has actually made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he’s altered his mind.

“I believe India is winning, make the change,” he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a few 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 childlike glee.

For more than 3 years he’s been wagering on cricket matches. We can’t reveal his name as what he’s doing is unlawful in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates flourish in the nation.

‘Black cash’

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

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals include “black cash”, which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

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

“Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online gambling,” says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
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But regardless of this, it is “offline gambling”, done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India’s Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help 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 actually been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.
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The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the best instructions.

“I do not mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet openly,” says our cricket gambler.

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

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

“If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a really efficient technique of marking out match repairing,” states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

“Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by entering the white market,” states Mr Oborne.

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

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 tough concept to sell.

“Despite the fact that many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it’s still a controversial concern for many,” says our unnamed punter.

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

“The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years,” says Mr Ranina.“That’s why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly.”

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.
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