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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 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his right hand.

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.
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And a couple of minutes later his forecast 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 years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

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

'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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

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

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

And offshore wagering business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation
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The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend modifications in the functioning 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 banned for two years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the of bookies.
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The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax revenues for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the best direction.

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

It would also open a big organization opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely efficient technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to position huge bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Although numerous individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for many," says our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually ignited around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.