Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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 requiring 17 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is cash 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 forbiding internet sports betting, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt 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 unclear for online gaming," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative 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 prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right instructions.

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

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

And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely effective approach of stamping 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 need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting since (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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.

"Despite the fact that many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a debate has ignited around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.