Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 runs to win against 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 mobile phone glued to his ideal hand.

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

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

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

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

The majority of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

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

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which control the market.

Require legalisation
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The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the functioning 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 actually been banned for 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of fixing 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 could total up to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the ideal instructions.

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

It would also open a big service chance for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have an extremely efficient approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

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

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

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

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