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 against Australia.

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

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

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman gets ready to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have made $200 today," he states 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 prohibited in India.

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

'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

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

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

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gaming," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help secure 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial company chance for licensed bookies and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a really effective approach of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

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

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to offer.

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

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

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

Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.