Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting 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 versus Australia.

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

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs 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 finish.

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

For more than 3 decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters place 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 individual run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And offshore wagering business are using this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with offshore firms.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes 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 prohibited for two years after some gamers and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the best direction.

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

It would likewise open a substantial service opportunity for certified bookies and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

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

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

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people would not wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never bet legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even though many individuals are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for numerous," says 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 gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.