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 runs 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 sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep modifying his bet.

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

"I think 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 surface.

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish 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 wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal avenue, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with overseas companies.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest modifications 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 actually been banned for two years after some players and group officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial company chance for certified bookmakers and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.

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

But many likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually fired up around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.