Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting 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 needing 17 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his ideal hand.

He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

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

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

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online gaming," states Mumbai- based legal representative 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 concept, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes 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 banned for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big organization chance for licensed bookies and global online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

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

But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never bet legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to offer.

"Even though lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a subject - which till now was thought about a taboo.