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

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

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his ideal hand.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's changed 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 comes to life, 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 three decades he's been banking 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 allowed in 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 wagering market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is money not stated 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 forbiding internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

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

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes 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 came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might total up 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 revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international 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 assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

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

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

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to put huge bets will never bet legally.

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

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

"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 soon."

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