Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

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 central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is viewing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his ideal 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 earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than 3 years he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black money'

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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

The majority of these transactions 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 prohibiting web gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with offshore firms.

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

But despite 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 actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big organization chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a very reliable approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But lots of likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been backed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has fired up around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.