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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

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

"I think India is winning, make the modification," 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 actually 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 illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

The majority of these transactions involve so-called "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 gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

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

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help clamp 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 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 players and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a big company opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely reliable technique of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But many likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering because (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position big bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Although lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states 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 gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has sparked around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.