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 situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

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

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

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes to life, 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 sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

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

'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank 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 cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

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

And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed 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 set up 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would also open a huge service opportunity for licensed bookies and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely effective approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And given 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," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, at least a debate has ignited around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.