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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 runs to win against Australia.
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In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.
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Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, but 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 change," he tells his bookmaker 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 states with a childlike glee.

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

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

'Black money'

According to the Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

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

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

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

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

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.
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The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some players and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a substantial company chance for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.
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"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a really efficient approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

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

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

Approval concern

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

"Even however lots of people are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

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