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 versus Australia.

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

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

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

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie 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 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates grow in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

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

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

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

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

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which control the market.

Require legalisation

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

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

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right direction.

"I don't mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket bettor.

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

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a really effective approach of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering because (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually fired up around a topic - which until now was considered a taboo.