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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
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

"I have made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
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Most of these transactions involve so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to . Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
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But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.
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The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax earnings for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.
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It would also open a big organization chance for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have an extremely efficient technique of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

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

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Although numerous people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered 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 procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has sparked around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.