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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more than 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal 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 distributes prosper in the country.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's illegal sports betting 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 highest specific run scorer.

Most of these transactions involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to lure Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big organization opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting since (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.

"Although lots of individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern 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 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 becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been backed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a debate has actually fired up around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.