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 situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his ideal hand.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising his bet.

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

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than three 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 of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes grow in the country.

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these transactions 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 restricting web gambling, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial service opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online wagering business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely efficient method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

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

"Despite the fact that many individuals are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.