For Sports Gambling To Be Legalised

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India


Published


5 February 2016


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By Sameer Hashmi


Mumbai Business reporter
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.


In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.


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


Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, and 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 bookmaker on the phone.


And a couple of minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.


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


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


Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates thrive in the nation.


'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.


With no legal opportunity, 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 highest individual run scorer.


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


The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable 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 people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.


"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.


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


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, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative 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 2 years after some gamers and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.


The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.


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


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


It would also open a huge organization chance for licensed bookies and global online wagering business to set up operations in India.


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


"If you work along with wagering business, you will have a very reliable method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.


But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.
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However, there are limitations.


"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.


He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never gamble lawfully.
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Approval question


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


"Despite the fact that many individuals are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.


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


"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."


Yet with the concept having been backed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has actually sparked around a subject - which up until now was considered a taboo.