For Sports Gambling To Be Legalised

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 go to win against Australia.


In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the 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 made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep revising his bet.
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Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.


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


And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.


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


For more than three decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.


Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates flourish in the nation.


'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 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 related to the cricket match, from who is to the greatest specific run scorer.
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The majority of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.


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


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


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


But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which dominate the marketplace.


Require legalisation


The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.
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The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 sports betting scandal emerged.


Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.


The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.


Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.


"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.


It would also open a substantial business opportunity for licensed bookies and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.


And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.


"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really effective technique of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.


But lots of likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.


However, there are restrictions.
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"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.


He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never bet legally.


Approval question


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


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


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


"The process is so long and difficult 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 actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has fired up around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.