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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the 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 contact the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep modifying his bet.

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

"I think India is winning, make the change," 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 surface.

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates thrive in the country.

'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.

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

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

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

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some players and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised betting will bring in 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 ideal instructions.

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

It would likewise open a huge business opportunity for licensed bookies and international online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

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

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering since (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to position big bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to sell.

"Although lots of people are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the first time, at least a debate has actually fired up around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.