Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his ideal hand.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

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

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.
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For more than three years he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates grow in the country.

'Black cash'

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 money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is cash 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 gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest modifications in the functioning of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and group officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.
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The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.
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Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge company chance for licensed bookmakers and global online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

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

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

Approval concern

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

"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has fired up around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.