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 house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

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

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

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"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 unlawful in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, unlawful 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 money is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, 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 individual run scorer.

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

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

And overseas wagering companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help secure 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 came to light.

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

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

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial business chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a very effective method of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) people would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to sell.

"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial concern for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

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