Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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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 needing 17 go to win against Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
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"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes in the country.

'Black cash'

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

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

The majority of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore firms.
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"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Require 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 help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest modifications 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 two years after some players and group officials were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax earnings for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the right instructions.

"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge business opportunity for certified bookies and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a very efficient method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also 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 constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

"Although lots of individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need 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," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.
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