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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

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

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

And a few minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

For more than three decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose 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, prohibited wagering syndicates flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.
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The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," says Mumbai- based attorney 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 designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying 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 performance of India's cricket regulatory 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 two years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

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

"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 certified bookies and international online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a really effective technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But many also believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to position big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to offer.

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

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a reality anytime quickly."

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